Of Love's Bestowing
by Arigazi
Summary: Complete. Slash. Summary inside. AU. HPLM. A certain blonde veela discovers his lifemate in the middle of a final battle just as Voldemort moves in on him. From the battlefield to Malfoy Manor, these mates are in for one hell of a rocky ride.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My first new fic. for the New Year. Actually, this has been stirring for a while, but I just kind of decided I'd finally put it out there, though I'm not sure how anyone will like it. –shrugs- I'll give it a try.

**Warning:** Slash. Language, probably. Severe age difference between couple. Nothing else that I can think of at the moment.

**Pairings:** HP/LM

**Summary:** Lucius has been living a dutiful life as the Dark Lord's servant, with a beautiful wife he was forced to marry, and a handsome son that he is more than proud of. That is, until one dark day in the middle of the final battle between the sides of Voldemort and Dumbledore, when Lucius finds his missing link. He finds what has always been missing from his life as a veela up until then. He finds The Boy Who Lived.

**_Of Love's Bestowing_**

_It is a curse._ He reasoned. _The one I love doesn't deserve to be tortured like this. Forced into something he obviously was neither ready for nor desired in the least._

Why had this happened? He was forced into a relationship with the worst possible candidate.

His worst enemy.

His worst nightmare.

His lover and partner for life.

* * *

Third Person:

He was a veela by nature, but his precarious powers –which had come to him late in puberty- had not activated his passion at all. Oh, he had attracted plenty of people of either gender, but none had sparked anything within him. So he grew up. He decided it was pointless to try searching for a mate after nearly a decade with no luck or even the faintest of sparks. It was all well and fine, considering he was already dedicated to both the woman he was arranged to marry, and the Dark Lord. His years as a servant to the Dark Lord had lasted most of his life, and though he had not joined willingly at first, he was now more of a devoted servant. Being devoted was better than being 'Crucio'd every time you were in his presence.

* * *

First Person:

During my first year with my wife, we had had a child and named him Draco. I was uncharacteristically proud of my son, though every time I looked upon him my heart seemed to fade slightly. I couldn't understand why, exactly. Draco was everything to me. I cared for my son more than I didmy own wife, but somehow I felt incomplete. Draco tried to make me proud, even in his youngest of years, but there was always something… like a beautiful house that –when finished- was marveled upon, but the creator looked upon it and thought, 'I could have made it from ebony. It could have been stronger.' I love my son though, and I wasn't about to change him. No… only mold him into the perfect Slytherin, like I had been.

Most of my time however was more put into making the Dark Lord happy. That was what really mattered if one didn't want to find themselves disfigured.

Of course, my time of devotion had been interrupted when a one-year-old little brat had caused the demise to our Lord. Or so most had thought. I had been rather glad about the change in pace actually, but still, I knew that fiend had survived and would return eventually. Until then though, I was free.

It was another decade before he arose from the nothingness to try to reclaim his life and take revenge on the boy, Potter, who had taken everything away from him.

That was the year my own son was to be going to Hogwarts for the first time.

I, myself, hadn't even laid eyes on the brat until Potter's second year at Hogwarts, and that's when it had all began…

I had seen the boy and intercepted him and the Weasleys while they were in Flourish and Blotts. As I entered the store, the first thing I had noticed was that my heart-rate had increased in speed incredibly. I had chalked it up to anxiety at my first meeting with a boy that was supposedly more powerful than the Dark Lord. When I first gazed upon the boy, it startled me greatly. I felt a pang of hate when I noticed the boy looked remarkably like his father, James Potter, but no, after I saw those eyes and that pale skin and the way he was formed, I thought of Lily Evans as well.

This wasn't James.

No.

The hate went away within an instant and a different feeling… a tingling feeling filled its place.

I hadn't understood it, but then again I also hadn't had long to ponder it. I had dropped off the book with that blasted Weasley girl, Ginny, and I was through with my mission.

I could leave.

Yet something in me didn't want to.

It was those eyes. Those powerful verdant eyes that had caught me off guard at first sight. I didn't like being caught off guard, but somehow, I didn't seem to mind their scrutinizing stare as much… that time.

The next time I had seen the boy, I had been furious. That bloody fool Dumbledore was accusing me of things that I knew I had done, but the Headmaster's calm aloofness then the boy's impudence, had set me off.

I couldn't quite explain it, but it had gotten my blood going.

I felt alive again. The boy had outwitted me into losing one of my house elves and I had went to strike the boy and the loyal elf had defended him.

That had pissed me off. Getting thrown back by a stupid elf. The boy could defend himself; this elf –the damnable elf- had no place doing what he did.

Later that night I had pondered all these meetings, but it still hadn't helped me much.

In the years to follow I had been on missions where I was extremely close to the boy and each time I saw him, he looked remarkably different and more… grown up.

Well, that had been before when I only saw the boy perhaps once a year, maybe less. After his fifth year, things had been quiet for a short while, but then that old coot Dumbledore had taken him from his Aunt's home prematurely over the summer and began to train him –as I would later learn. Finally, Voldemort had taken it upon himself to attack the boy with renewed powers before the boy could have enough time to train properly. The battle had been in Britain, near where the whole Quidditch World Cup tournament had taken place and –unfortunately- also near a whole town of Muggles. It had taken a right many memory charms to set everything right, but the incident had just barely gone unnoticed by the Muggle papers. However, the Ministry was _still_ collecting photographs from the fight that Muggles had taken and tried to show to others, but thankfully, everyone had thought the holders to be insane and had refused to believe them.

I dread to think what would happen if Muggles knew about us and started to _look_ for us. It was bad enough that they are _there_, but to have them interfering with my life would be enough to make me want to hurl.

The battle had been both enlightening and frightening for me.

The boy, Potter, had taken up the lead in the attacks after the Order arrived. Of course, he was backed up by at least four of the Order members at all times, but after the battle had spread among all of the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord, the battle had become pretty widespread.

I had not seen the boy for most of the battle, but then I suddenly bumped into him as I was stepping backward over a dead body.

We had tumbled to the ground because of how off-balance we had been and I had found the boy, no… man… suddenly on top of my chest, his wand fallen a few feet to the side and his face contorting in pain from the landing.

The boy was wounded. I could definitely smell the blood, but I wasn't sure _why _and all in a rush, it suddenly came to me. This boy. This man. This sixteen-year-old man was finally of age and that's why I could smell him… Could smell his scent, his blood, his sweat, his hair, his breath, his body, his _everything_!

The man on top of me had gasped in shock as he realized who he was laying on and had tried to get away, but he was too late. The old fart Crabbe –who had never been too far behind me- pulled Potter up by his hair and pressed his wand to his throat with a toothy smile covered in dirt and blood.

Something inside me had snapped in that moment and I had taken up Potter's wand and used the Killing Curse on Crabbe. The fat slob died still holding onto Potter's hair, then he had fallen over on top of him.

This sight had made my stomach want to relieve me of breakfast, but I had kept it down and instead kicked the fat, dead, bastard off of Potter.

The man before me had seemed so confused as he recovered from the oaf landing on him, and he appeared somewhat fearful.

I realized that I still had his wand and I smiled at him softly, about to give it back when a cold hand came down over my shoulder with an evil cackle accompanying it.

It was the Dark Lord.

He was congratulating me on my apprehension of the 'Boy Wonder', as he had called him. He ordered me to give him the wand and I couldn't. I was staring into his eyes. Not the Dark Lord's, no, I was staring into _his_ eyes. My mate's eyes.

My Harry's eyes.

I didn't want to call him 'Potter'. It made me think too much of his father, but when I called him Harry to myself, it made me feel a spreading warmth through my body.

He was looking resigned and desperate, and I hated that look. He suddenly looked into my eyes, though, and his eyes widened for some reason. Something he saw there seemed to give him a spark of hope.

I loved that.

I wanted that spark to grow bigger!

I turned determinedly to that bastard, that I knew wanted to kill what was mine; I wouldn't allow it! I felt my veela power surge within me. It grew within me as if it were molten fire running through my veins and it screamed at me to protect my mate!

Years of built-up power and emotions had finally broken through to the surface.

I turned to him in a flash with my wand clasped tightly in my fighting arm. I pressed the tip into that bastard's chest and spat the Killing Curse off.

A huge flash of green light and the creature that claimed to be alive, was thrown back perhaps ten yards into a pile of already long-dead bodies.

Turning back to my mate, I had to be sure that the bastard was dead, but I couldn't leave him lying there. He was looking at me with such obfuscation and relief, but then fear… and I understood his fear.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the ground. He deserved to be placed on a pedestal of silk pillows, not to be shoved onto the bloody ground like trash. I pulled him close to me, my chin resting on his hair as I embraced him with one arm. He was startled and ready to fight against me, but he suddenly relaxed against me and I reveled in it. After allowing my presence to calm him for a moment, I put his wand back into his hand and pulled him along behind me as I strode –well, 'strode' as well as one could when stepping over hordes of dead bodies- over to the remains of the Dark Lord.

He tensed as he realized where I was pulling him, but when I finally stopped just before the bastard that had been the Dark Lord, I quickly explained to my mate what I wanted to do with him… just to be sure.

After my explanation, realization seemed to flood his senses and he glared menacingly at the remains of Riddle.

We both raised our wands at the same moment, but before he could speak the curse again, I took his hand in mine, entwining our fingers. This startled him a great deal, but again, my presence seemed to calm anything he had been about to say, and he ignored our connection.

Raising our wands again, we both spoke the Killing Curse and that green light came again and hit the Dark Lord with such a combined force that a large black hole darkened the bastard's chest where our curses had combined and killed off any chance that he could have been alive.

After it was through he stared at the body for a long while, then he looked up to me. He was so curious and questioning and he didn't even have to speak a word. I wanted to kiss him right then and there. He was my mate. I felt it more the longer we were connected. It all felt so right. My mate. He had been born about nineteen years after me, that's why I hadn't felt anything for anyone at all. My body had been waiting for its mate to be born –for the second half of its soul to be placed with another, then made of age. Now that he was there beside me, I was unable to guess how I had lived all of those years without him. I understood why it had hurt to look upon Draco. It was because he was not made of my mate as well as me. My son was only half complete and he didn't even know it.

"Why did you do this?" He asked me finally. "Why did you save me and suddenly switch sides?" He seemed as if he wanted to ask why I had held his hand as well, but he didn't say anything about it. "Have you been a spy for the Order all along, and I just haven't known about you?"

I had no idea _how_ he could remain so calm with all the things that had just happened and all the things I still had yet to tell him.

"What can I ever give you to repay you for saving my life?" He asked softly, seemingly having forgiven me for all my past errs in that one instant, yet I know he had not. "Not only my life, but the lives of the other people Riddle would have killed today if it weren't for you." He seemed so young suddenly. I wanted to kiss him for all he had been through, all he had suffered through. How had he done it? So young.

"Stay with me." I begged –my voice alien to even me. "Don't leave me alone. Be my mate? My companion?" I asked, my voice as tender and loving as I could make it. I think he heard that. He heard the love in my voice and he knew it was genuine because he had not been loved much as a child –as I later learned. Perhaps his aunt had loved him, but he hadn't had parents to love him with the tenderness that I now spoke. He wanted it. I could feel it from him. Like a little puppy that craved attention and people to pet and love him for being cute. He was craving exactly what I was offering. "Let me take care of you forever. Let me love you forever." I pleaded. I knelt down in front of him, my bloodstained robes meshing with the muddy-grassy ground. "I want to show you love."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Several of you worried that this would be a one-shot and I failed to mention that this would continue on in chapter form. For that I am sorry; if I worried any of you at all.

**I was astounded by the volume of reviews of which I received. Thank you all for your kind words and worries of this continuing for a while, which it will.**

Chapter 2

Suddenly, there were others. The remainder of the Order members were starting to come over to us. Perhaps they thought I was begging for my life, and in a sense… I was. He was my life now, and he always would be. I needed him like I needed water.

The others saw the body of the Dark Lord, and there were gasps and startled words all around. Had they even had faith in the man I still held the hand to? Had they had faith in their savior to survive the final battle? Of course, I suppose I had had a large part to play in his survival. If he hadn't have been my mate, I probably would have killed him long before the Dark Lord had touched my shoulder just a few minutes before. That would never be an option to me though. No. Never!

"Take him away!" Dumbledore ordered, and I scowled hatefully. I didn't want to be torn from my mate, but if I showed hostility, then they would later keep him from me when they found out the truth.

I gently kissed his hand and released it, before standing and handing my wand to Harry. He took it, his mouth agape as he looked up into my eyes. I smiled down on him with as true of a smile as I could conger while being torn away from him, and I watched his face color prettily. Merlin, he was gorgeous right then.

Two Order members ran up to me, and grabbed my arms roughly as they pushed me along. I didn't put up a fight. I didn't want to regret it later, but it hurt. It hurt to be leaving him behind after just finding out the truth, and being able to touch and hold him.

"Wait!" Harry shouted and I felt my heart leap into my throat. "He saved my life!" Harry declared to them all and everyone's eyes widened in shock.

"He what?" The old fart asked. His mask of calmness gone.

"He saved me." My Harry repeated without falter, and with –dare I hope- pride? "He protected me from Voldemort and helped me destroy him!"

Some flinched at the name. I certainly didn't. It had become something of a hilarity to watch people flinch at a name; especially that psycho's name.

"I want you to release him!" Harry ordered, a frown crossing his beautiful face.

"Harry," The old man tried to reason, "he's killed many people, not only today on this battlefield, but also in the past!"

"He was never convicted for those things, and I am not a judge. All I'm saying is that I want you to release him, right now! He saved my life. He at least deserves to be able to walk off this field and into a courtroom without being put in chains. He, at least, deserves that courtesy!" Harry shouted, quite domineeringly. It made me shiver with passion, the way he spoke.

The old fart eventually nodded to the people holding me and I was released.

Without smiling –as they would have gotten aggressive if I had- I walked triumphantly back over to Harry.

Three Order members quickly crowded around him defensively, but I paid them no never mind as I leaned down and kissed Harry tenderly on his forehead, right over that bloody scar. Harry's eyes followed me the whole while, as I moved in closer to him with confidence.

He closed his eyes against my kiss and I felt him shiver with pleasure under me.

The people surrounding him were somewhat horrified, and somewhat stupefied. They didn't know whether to allow me to kiss him or to pull me away, but they obviously noticed how much Harry was enjoying my kiss and they let me. I pulled back, placing my hand on his shoulder and I squeezed his shoulder lovingly.

"Thank you." I murmured into his ear and stood up to my full height –only a head taller than his developed body.

* * *

And that's how it began.

Lucius was tried in a court and found guilty of injuring twenty individuals. Harry had stayed silent about Crabbe's death so no one was any the wiser about that. Even though it had been a Death Eater that Lucius had killed, and even though it had been in defense of Harry, it was still considered a 'blood-thirsty death' to the men trying him. It would only do him harm if it were to be brought up.

Before the trial, Lucius had asked for a private moment with Harry and though there were guards posted outside the door, they had been alone. Lucius had quickly explained to Harry that he would let everyone think Harry had killed Voldemort all by himself if that's what he wanted and Harry had shrugged, not really caring, but agreeing.

Harry had been called upon for his recount of the story and he more than provided for the missing details of anything left unsaid. He verified every word that Lucius had spoken under truth serum, and spoke highly of him for being definitely changed and pressed the court to make his sentence justified. The court seemed to understand from his glare that he was threatening them to be fair and unbiased because several of them adjusted themselves in their seats before regaining their composure.

The entire scene had brought Lucius so much pride and love for his mate that he had wanted to run over to Harry and hold him tight in a loving embrace. He couldn't do this, of course, and he refrained from showing any emotions, just as Harry had schooled his face to do.

A charm of understanding and air of alliance had passed between Lucius and Harry after a brief moment of their eyes connecting across the courtroom.

Throughout the remainder of the trial, Harry had patiently waited with the crowd. A few brave reporters who had been invited to view the trials, had attempted to speak to Harry about his views and whatnot, but Lucius could not tell much of anything that Harry had told him. He only noticed when they whispered a few things to them and he calmly whispered some things back –which they scribbled down on small notepads before returning their attention to the trial. Harry had apparently said his peace then ordered them silent, and they –being obedient to practically no one- had listened to his words and not tested the temper of The Man Who Lived.

So, Lucius' sentence was named at last.

He would spend a year in Azkaban for the injury of so many Order members and his involvement with Voldemort, but because he had saved Harry his sentence was lessened and wasn't as severe as it would have been. Lucius knew also that had Harry not spoken on his behalf he would have had several more years tacked on to his sentence.

Lucius had agreed to the sentence, just so he could be cleared of all charges and be a free man after it was through.

Free.

Free to pursue his life with his new and only love interest.

* * *

Lucius felt a terrible pang for Harry every day of that year. Three hundred and sixty-five days spent without so much as a verbal word from anyone. He felt drained from the Dementors and depressed from having spent no time with his mate at all. The only thing that kept him sane was the fact that he could spend the rest of his life with Harry after he was freed and no more accusations could be landed on him ever again. Best of all, his bad reputation would not taint his mate's. They would be two innocent people who had become lovers. No one could convict him of more than he had been sentenced for.

They could live in peace.

Together.

By the time he was finally out of Azkaban, Harry had graduated Hogwarts and moved on with life.

It hurt deeply to think Harry had forgotten him. That Harry thought nothing of him anymore, or at all for that matter.

He couldn't let himself think that way though, or he would fall into a stupor that nothing could pull him from. No. He had to consider that it had just been a year and his mate would be happy to see him out of jail. They would be together.

* * *

His assets had been frozen until the day of his release, so unfortunately Narcissa –his wife, or ex-wife as the divorce had been finalized with Draco's help two months prior- could no longer leech off his fortune for stupid gatherings and fancy new clothes. He had made sure to sign the papers for the divorce before his trial and had asked his son to make sure Narcissa signed them as well. It had taken a bit of haggling between Draco and herself, to negotiate a reasonable amount for her to leave with and never come groveling back. Ever. It had been settled within a month. She had been gone from the manor for most of the year, and Lucius had celebrated as much as one could with those _things_ nearby.

Luckily, whether it had been his son's doing, or someone else, Lucius did not know, but he had been placed in an area of Azkaban where the Dementors did not frequent as often. They made their rounds, but they did not hover over him like they did over the murderers in solitary confinement. He was extremely grateful to whomever it had been that had helped to keep his sanity.

After the Malfoy family assets had been frozen, Draco had at least been sensible enough to get a job at the Ministry for himself once he'd graduated –as he had explained in his letters. He would be getting his inheritance –of money- in a few short years, but he was relying on himself to take care of things and build up another fortune for himself until then. What a wonderful son he'd raised. He wished suddenly that his mate could be proud of his son as well, but that would be quite odd. After all, they had been enemies with one another for a great many years, and had barely just become civil with each other before graduation, according to Draco. His son had taken it upon himself to write to Lucius as often as possible, informing him of, not only himself and how his life was going, but also of Harry.

It had been in one of the last conversations Lucius had had with his son to actually be able to speak with him, where they had spoken of Lucius' discovery of his mate. Draco had been more than surprised by this information. He had known his father was veela, but he hadn't been aware that his mother was not Lucius' true mate. He was mature enough to understand that Lucius would not be able to chose his mate, but that it had already been decided long ago. Perhaps in another life. Draco promised to keep an eye on Harry –or Potter as he called him- and describe his antics and ambitions to Lucius whilst he was locked away.

For this, Lucius had been more than grateful, and again thanked the gods above for such a wonderful son.

Lucius had pages of letters from his son, explaining everyday things that Harry had done. He had worked over the summer at his friend's joke shop in Hogsmeade for about a month. Apparently, he had helped to fund the little shop and was a partner in ownership. This had impressed Lucius to no ends. His mate was already a businessman, though he wouldn't need the money after they were together.

Draco had written about several offers at the end of their years at Hogwarts that Harry had received to join several professional Quidditch teams. Harry had agreed to join them in several games, but did not stay on full-time for some unknown reason, however, he had led his teams to victory several times over in each game that he played for an entire season. Draco had written about two of these games that he had actually attended out of sheer boredom. One of his co-workers at the Ministry had had an extra season ticket, so he had gone and taken notes on the matches for his father.

Lucius was horrified to read about the beaters on the other teams that had ruthlessly tried to knock Harry out of the sky and had almost succeeded on several occasions. One in particular, had caused Lucius' blood to run cold. Harry had been flying and spotted the snitch, so he'd dived for it, but an angry beater from the other team decided he wanted to show the rookie what-for. He'd hit one very powerful blow toward Harry and it'd hit his back dead-center. The extra push from the bludger had caused Harry to be able to catch the snitch, but he had also been put into the infirmary for a week from the incident.

The incident had happened, perhaps two months before Lucius had been released and it was a horrible pain on his heart to not be able to see his mate when he was in pain.

Explaining his situation to Draco had been relatively simple since they shared the same blood and Draco had the same magnetic attraction that all veela had, but none of the ability to track down his life-mate. Draco unfortunately could not understand _exactly_ what Lucius' feelings for Harry were, due to his impure blood. Being a veela was considered having the purest of blood, so this did not disgrace who he was in his bloodlines, but because he was only half veela, he did not have attuned powers to hone in on his life-mate. He had the ability to attract others to him, though he rarely had to use it, but he would almost have to rely completely on his own senses to pick which person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

He had been slightly understanding, but had resented that Harry Potter would be his… father? Would Harry marry Lucius?

Lucius dared not hope such things just yet.

A/N: I'd just like to again thank you all for reading my story and I encourage you to please review me any more of your worries, questions, or exclamations. I would love to talk with anyone who'd like the conversation. Feel free to email me to discuss this story, or anything in general.

**Reviewers:**

**Death-by-inkpen:** Ever the faithful reviewer. –smiles- I always look forward to your words about my stories, Jen, they always make me smile. Thank you.

**Hedwig07:** Thank you very much. I am pleased that you think I'm worthy of such a standing with you. I hope you enjoy my story.

**Dreamerswalking:** Yes, Draco's reactions when they all actually meet will be… odd to say the least. Who wouldn't find such a thing peculiar and uncomfortable? Someone you've gone to school with and fought beside in a war, dating your father… hmm. I'd be freaked out.

**Lady:** Your name just reminded me of a song. –chuckle- Don't worry. This story will end up being… quite long as far as I can tell. I suppose we'll find out as I write it, hm?

**Dragonknight01:** You put it so eloquently. A cuddly Lucius with a mean side… I like it too. Thank you for reviewing. Please don't hesitate to do so again.

**Darkfaerie161:** I think I spelt that right, but I could be wrong. I'm sorry if I did. I'm happy that you enjoyed my fic and I hope you keep reading it.

**ShatteredDream161: **I'm glad you think the Harry/Lucius thing was sweet. I wasn't sure how many people would like this fic, but I love Harry/Lucius fics so… I decided to give it a try.

**Death:** I think you'll like the reactions everyone has with the couple being together. I know I'll enjoy writing them. I hope I'm staying pretty on character with these people here. There will probably be some moments where they're a little off, but no one can really help that when Rowling hadn't been planning for them all to be gay anyway. –chuckle-

**Yana5: **Harry pregnant? It sounds good, but I have no idea how the future will progress. He probably will get preggers. We'll see.

**Daftmeg:** You'll see about Lucius' complete child, I suppose. I'd love to dispose that information, but I have yet to write the whole thing, and it's all just kind of coming out as I write so… I'm glad you like it so far, and I'm glad you like my portrayal of Lucius.

**Ura-hd:** Hope I spelt that right. Thanks for reviewing. I hope you like it so far.

**JennaMoon: **Yes, I'm obviously continuing it. It seemed a lot of you reviewers were worried about this being a one-shot. I'll have to clarify myself next time I start a new story. Please feel free to review again. I enjoy everyone's comments.

**Hacan Necah:** I do hope that I spelt you name correctly. I'm sorry if it's a bit off. Thank you ever so much for reviewing and I look forward to reading your input on this in the future.

**Strega:** Not a one-shot. No worries. –chuckle- I didn't mean to scare you. I'll try and clarify that with the next fic I write. I didn't really think it left off well enough to stand alone, but I guess it did. Your review made me laugh so much it hurt. I'm happy that you liked my little measly fic. Please continue to enjoy if it suits you.

**A-Brighter-Dawn:** I appreciate very much that you decided to review my story. (Yours is excellent, by the way; just had to say that again.) I agree with you, there aren't enough Lucius/Harry fics. There need to be more. I only know like two other actually good ones and they're on my favorites list. No worries, though, this is obviously going to be a continual story. I hope you continue to read. It would make me happy. Thank you for your compliments on how I wrote the story. I don't much like first-person POV too much either, but when I was summarizing the idea for this on the computer it just kind of came out like that more easily, so that's how I started it, but I'm not sure if I'll go back to that much at all for the rest of the story. I don't know. I guess we'll both just have to wait and see. –smiles- Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ah! Run! Luvy duvy shit! Ack-gag- It's… too… sweet…. I'm meeeeeeeelllllllttttttinnnnnnnngggggggg!

chuckle-

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Upon release, Lucius had been given back the clothes he had been wearing upon incarceration into Azkaban. The clothes seemed a bit loose on him, rather than the usual snugness and comfort of well-tailored clothes. He hated that he had lost either weight or muscle mass. He knew he would have to work on that again, but he would willingly do it. Just knowing that his mate would drool over his body, or ravish it –either or was fine- after he had fixed himself up, made him more than willing to start at it right away. He knew his hair lacked its usual luster from lack of proper washing, and his skin was rough instead of smooth because of lack of proper maintenance, but that could all be fixed within a week of being home. He would glow again, like he knew he always did, and his mate would run into his arms without hesitation.

It would just take time.

* * *

The minister was there on Lucius' last day. 

He shook Lucius' hand out of respect or fear of the man, and warned him in a slightly smaller voice than his greeting, that Lucius should cause no more trouble or the consequences would be much more dire than this punishment had been.

Lucius paid him no never-mind, as he had no intention of breaking any more laws, at least, he didn't intend to get _caught_ anyway. If need be he would break the law for his mate, but he would of course be sneaky about it, like any proper Slytherin.

A boat awaited Lucius' presence before sailing past the anti-apparition borders to land. It was a long travel on the slow-moving boat, leaving plenty of time for the veela to mull over his plans for finding his mate and engaging him in the relationship that they had both been starved of since their births. He knew that neither of them would be truly satisfied with other partners. They would never be complete until they were together at last.

Lucius looked gravely back on the horrible ominous mass of rock that had encompassed him and kept him from being with his mate for an entire year. He felt torn over a swell of problems and emotions suddenly, but a rush of something flew through his veins and he smiled evilly as he watched the island get smaller and further from him and his mind. He childishly flicked off the island and felt a rush of gaiety run through his veins. He was acting childish, but somehow the thought of finally being able to be with his mate, and show him every proper delight that he deserved, made Lucius feel energetic.

He wished that Draco could have been able to get in contact with Harry and bring him along for this meeting. Draco had promised to meet his father at the disembarking site for the boat. The elder Slytherin understood that Draco had tried his best, but the Gryffindor had just been impossible to locate and none of his closest friends –whom Draco had come to be acquaintances with- could tell him anything at all about where he was, as they didn't know either. They had guessed that he was merely out on another recognizance mission. Lucius also sensed that Draco was secretly happy that Harry wasn't going to be there. He had realized a while back that he was being quite selfish in only thinking of himself and his mate, whilst his son was probably growing gray hairs from all the information he had to collect and the pressure of his father being in jail. It was Draco's job this past year –along with all of his own personal businesses, etc- to keep his father sane, and that was no easy task at all. Draco had more than a little right to be a bit protective and jealous of how Lucius thought so much of his mate instead of his son.

Draco would have him now though. Lucius had promised to stay with Draco in the Malfoy Manor for an entire week without leaving, and without searching for his mate. Of course Lucius had his own reasons for this, like any Slytherin. He would not only get to spend a great deal of time getting to know his handsome son again, but he would also have plenty of time to prepare himself to look presentable for his mate once he started to search for him again.

Lucius was both anxious and hesitant. He was anxious to see his son after not seeing him in an entire year, but he also realized that there was a years worth of memories that had slid through his hands. He would never be able to understand that year. Draco had tried his best in his letters to describe everything that was going on with both the Wizarding world, and mostly with Harry. Lucius realized with a slight pang in his heart, that he had heard very little about Draco in general. They would have a great deal of catching up to do.

While he would enjoy spending this day with Draco, he knew that he would be somewhat distracted, worrying whether his mate was safe and if he was even alive… but no. If he kept thinking along those lines, then he would never make it through this day without running rampant across the Wizarding world searching for his mate.

Harry was fine. It would have been in the papers if anything had happened, or might happen to 'The Boy Who Lived', as they still called him because of only his _recent_ graduation, which had been almost a year before. It frustrated Lucius slightly, as it must still be frustrating his mate, that this world that he had protected so diligently would still think of him as a boy, and nothing more.

He turned his attention back to his son and smiled fondly. He wondered if Draco had grown at all. He wondered if he had cut his hair, or let it grow out.

He smiled when he thought of what Draco would talk about after the first few initial questions of 'Are you well?' and 'Where should we eat and talk?'. He found himself smiling as he imagined his son talking of his own lover Blaise. If he was not mistaken, Draco was still in a firm relationship with Blaise, but he had not heard much of anything about Blaise in Draco's letters for quite some time. They had become more centered around Harry, which had helped Lucius survive the days, much more easily.

Still a painful grip covered his heart when he thought of Harry out there in the world without him to guard him from terrible people who would take advantage of him. Lucius had an uncontrollable urge to protect his mate, but he couldn't manage it from inside the prison, so he bided his time and used as much of his Slytherin patience as he had left.

It had thankfully lasted.

Lucius pulled from his old coat pocket several of the letters that Draco had sent him. The rest –more trivial ones- he had shrunken with what little wandless magical power he had had and put in his other, inner coat pocket.

The wind nipped horribly at Lucius' dry lips and pale skin, on that foggy day as he skimmed through the letters to look for the one he had been thinking of a moment ago.

Ah! Here it was.

He ran his eyes over the parchment and looked for the portion he had been most worried about.

One of the first letters from Draco had consisted of some rather disconcerting news that he had been unaware of about his mate.

Apparently, Harry had been inducted into the Order of the Phoenix, which Lucius was familiar with due to a spy against the Light Side during the war. Though the Dark Side hadn't learned much about the Order. They understood that these were the individuals that risked their lives, and did the worst of the work to capture evildoers and save the lives of innocents without recognition, or even being known of. Some members were Unspeakables, or characters with special powers, but almost all were at least Aurors.

This news about Harry being such a member was terrifying. It had been hard news to come by, as Draco later explained, but one of the missions Harry and a collection of five other unknown wizards had been on, had been botched and all of them had nearly been killed. Thankfully, they had apprehended the man they had been after, and they had all escaped with their lives, but according to a loose-lipped medi-witch –before their memories had been erased to keep them from being able to identify the Unspeakables and Aurors involved- the wizards had been scarred deeply and one would never be able to continue in his work. It was impossible to retrieve the information of which wizard it had been. The witch had been taken away by the Ministry before she could answer anymore questions to the officials.

Draco's last letter had been stating that Harry was unreachable by anyone, and would therefore, not be present for his release, and _that_ worried Lucius a great deal. It hurt to think his mate could be in danger at this very moment and he was incapable of rectifying that situation at all. Harry would not be going on any more of these missions after Lucius had hold of him; Lucius would make of that. He knew his mate would be rebellious and want to be more free, but he would have to learn to adjust, just as Lucius would.

Quickly, Lucius scanned through a few more letters before he came across the one about Harry's years at Hogwarts. Lucius only vaguely knew of Harry's mischief and love interests, and he only knew those things from Draco's complaints about the Boy Wonder for those seven years.

He found it and smiled at the letter until he came to the part about Harry's only love interests. Through both his memories of Draco complaining of these things, and the letter in his hand, he could piece together most of everything he needed to put the puzzle of Harry Potter, together.

The first –as far as Draco could discern- had been a girl named Cho Chang. The crush had apparently started in Harry's fourth year and developed into more in Harry's fifth year when they went out to Hogsmeade together and were seen holding hands. Once Harry's sixth year had started, he had become quite self-reliant and alone. He had repressed all thoughts that did not include schoolwork, or the war. He had showed no interest in anyone and could be found staring at the stars. Draco had guessed that that was to clear his thoughts, but Lucius felt that that reason didn't quite fit. He wanted so desperately to speak with Harry and discuss all of these things with him. He wanted to soothe Harry, and keep him from ever having to worry ever again. Lucius opened the worn parchment yet again and read through the familiar scrawl of his son:

_Dear Father,_

_My inquisitions of your dearest Potter have landed me in quite a pickle. It would seem **The Prophet** now sees fit to write of your Potter and myself in a romantic sense._

The idea of such a thing brought a growl from the veela's throat. He knew his son wouldn't attempt such a thing, but the idea of _anyone_ being romantically involved with _his_ Harry made him go mad with jealousy.

_How they could possibly be so thickheaded is beyond me. How can they not tell that my love lies elsewhere? You know of my intentions with Blaise, of course, so you need not worry about me going after _your _Potter._

_Anyway, in reference to the information I know you're dying to get out of me, I will tell you of Potter. You remember, of course, the rebel force against Voldemort called The Order of the Phoenix. Potter was inducted into The Order in his last year of school. According to some inside sources, he is quite high in the standings of The Order's missionaries and spies. I know you're interested in how he could go undercover when his scar is blatant across his forehead. Apparently, he is mastering the art of disguise with not only magic, but also Muggle disguise. The Order and the Ministry have been calling on him for all sorts of missions to apprehend criminals that have been spying against the Order or Ministry, or to report Death Eaters in general._

_After Potter graduated there was a period of time in which no one knows what he was doing. He practically disappeared from all of the papers and towns from everywhere around this half of the world. There wasn't a wizard or Muggle in England who knew the whereabouts of Potter –not even Dumbledore._

_However, he reappeared after thee months of absence. He reentered the Wizarding World without a word of explanation for his leave. He jumped into his Quidditch for six months. For the last three months of this past year, I have a vague idea of him rejoining The Order every now and then when they requested his talents specifically._

_I'm positive that you are most concerned with Potter's love-life. During his school years, to my extensive knowledge, he only dated that Ravenclaw girl Cho Chang, but that didn't last long at all. They went on one date to Hogsmeade and it was definitely over before the next month. As far as I know, after Potter graduated he had a fling with one of the Weasley twins, he dated an older professional Quidditch player named Anna Finch for about a month, and according to **The Daily Prophet** Charlie Weasley had made passes at him, but the truth in that could be completely off. After that there was nothing about his love-life in the papers and he was seen with no special persons._

He held the letter tenderly for a moment before he folded it back up and pocketed all of the parchments again.

The shore was more than in sight; he was nearly there. He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts of both his son and his mate that he hadn't even seen the approach of the land mass.

The fog here was so dense that he could barely make out the stout wooden dock where the boat was meant to dock and where Draco was supposed to be waiting for him.

An eternity later the ship was finally within sight of the beginnings of the first buildings along the harbor, but it appeared that no one was alive in this ghost town. Either that or it was earlier than Lucius had guessed

Several sailors jumped off the boat to tie it down before a plank was finally lowered to the dock.

As Lucius took his first steps of freedom, he felt a swell of relief settle over him. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. The harbor stunk badly, but it was free air. It wasn't the stale air of the jail cells he had been subjected to for the past year.

Somehow… the air out here was much sweeter than any air he'd ever breathed before.

With another scan of the area, Lucius' senses picked up on another individual. He smiled as he noticed the shiny black shoes, tailored black trousers, and thick Muggle jacket that seemed to fit this man quite well. It seemed he had grown into his body a bit better since last Lucius had seen him. He was aquite the godly looking blonde, about half a foot shorter than himself.

Lucius took in this man with a small smile spreading across his face.

_He's grown._ Lucius thought idly as the other man returned his small smile slightly.

Both men remained glued to their spots as they continued to look each other over, then finally they settled on one another's eyes.

"Father." The other man called out softly. His voice had deepened since last they'd spoken.

"Draco." Lucius responded, inclining his head slightly to his son.

They regarded each other continually for a few moments longer.

"You look like shit." Draco finally said with an impish grin.

"Thanks." Lucius responded remaining still.

Finally, Draco seemed to decide something as he strode up to his father casually. Without warning, Draco embraced his father, wrapping his arms around his taller form.

"I've missed you." Draco whispered into his father's ear softly. "Promise you're not going to get into more trouble?" He asked, with a pleading note to his tone.

"I promise I won't get caught." Lucius quipped and Draco chuckled as well, but as he held his father tighter he felt the unfamiliar sting of tears threatening to fall down his face.

He was here. His father was back. The only family he had left was here… in his grasp… he could touch him. He was real. 'Father' wasn't just a word anymore. It was a person, and he was alive and tangible.

"You're back." Draco murmured as he continued to fight the tears.

"I'm back," Lucius responded with a tight hold of Draco's smaller frame against his own, "son."

A/N: Damn, I warned you it would be luvy duvy shit. Sorry. I promise I won't do that much anymore. That is unless **somebody** actually liked it?

**My lovely reviewers!**

**Death-by-inkpen:** Thanks, babe. I'm thrilled you were moved my it so much. –blush-

**A Brighter Dawn:** Wow! Thank you so much for your fantastic review! It's an honor to get such kind words from you. It makes me very happy to know that someone picks up on those little details that I take so much care in placing in there. Thank you. As you can see Harry wasn't there to greet him, but then where would the plot be? –chuckle- And would you really want to kiss something that looked like it just rolled off a greasy frying pan? Eh, maybe after a shower. Thanks again.

**Methoslover:** Well, I hope you read more too. I hope you're enjoying the plot as well.

**Clodia:** I think you'll understand Harry's feelings in due time, but this is mostly from Lucius' POV because I don't think anyone really has taken the story of him falling in love completely from his side of it, and he's such a lovable lug, that I think it's twice as fun to read these kinds of stories from the 'scary' person's side of it. You find out how they tick, and you've already found out how Harry ticks because Rowling wrote all the books from his POV, so… anyway, thanks for reviewing.

**Hello:** Eh, I don't really know how to respond to that one. So, 'Eh?'

**DaftMeg:** It's good that you weren't bothered by him getting imprisoned. I couldn't really write it that he got off scott free. It's not believable. Hope you enjoy!

**Yana5:** It's been a year, but can any person truly get a veela out of their mind once they've met one. Can the boys at Hogwarts stop thinking about Fleur?

**Strega:** No, Lucius isn't patient at all. Actually, he's run out of patience. Now, what's driving him is to look the best he possibly can for his mate which would help him get Harry all the quicker. –chuckle- Yeah, I wish I had my own Lucius locked up in my room all day so I could play with him when I got home. That'd be better than the internet. I'd give up if I had my own Lucius. –smile- Maybe not.

**Jennifer:** Sorry about not updating in a while, but… it's complicated. I have a new job and less time so… at least I didn't wait a year before updating. –sighs- It might be easier if you just got an account with that way you could just get an alert in your email whenever I update instead of having to search for it. –smiles- Several of my other reviewers prefer that because I update so sporadically.

**Dragonknight01:** It said Fragonknight01, but –excuse my presumptuousness- I assumed you meant 'dragon'. Sorry if I was wrong. Thanks for reviewing. Eh, where is this story 'When Lucy Met Harry' that you speak of?

**Michmud:** Sorry about not updating too quickly, but I had writers block and a new job and no time. Sorry. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I'll try to update better in the future. Your reviews keep me in high spirits about my story, so… please continue!

**JennaMoon:** You rock too. I don't know if I'll continue with LM/HP pairings in the future. I have a lot of favorite pairings, so I suppose it's just whatever pops into my head. I'm currently also working on a RLHP fic that my friends think is pretty cool, but I've decided to wait until I'm done with this one before I post it.

**Darkangel507:** I was very honored that you read this just because you like my other stories and you decided to give it a try. When I first accidentally came upon a Lucius/Harry story a while back, I had thought it was Draco/Harry fic, but it turned out to be different and I LOVED IT! It was and is still, the BEST Lucius/Harry story… let me correct that, it is the BEST VEELA fic I've ever read. Sorry that the pair through you off, but I'm glad you still like the story, and no, I'm not doing first person through the whole thing. Maybe just sporadically I'll do it.

**SweetPeaFairy:** Sorry about not posting so soon, but –sigh- things got tied up. I'll try to be better about it in the future chapter, but we'll see. Thanks for reviewing and reading!

**Lanku:** You're right, there should be more Lucius/Harry fics, but there aren't. –cries- Hopefully there will eventually be! Thanks for the compliments and thanks for reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This chapter's a bit slow, but I have fun and evil thoughts for the next one. Perhaps even a little harry interaction. Enjoy!

**Thirteen pages! A new record!**

Chapter 4

A Muggle rented car had steadily driven them for nearly two hours before finally reaching their home.

Draco casually slipped a large sum of money to the man at the wheel as both Malfoys exited the vehicle and stood at their front gate.

"I don't much use the front gate." Draco explained idly as both men looked at the cast-iron gate that was beginning to rust. The start of curling vines and weeds were fighting their way around the metal bars to cover the gate completely.

"Obviously." Lucius responded with a bit of a sneer in his tone as he looked over the neglected gate.

Draco just shrugged it off. He didn't much care about the fence that bordered their home. It could be easily fixed if he had cared to try, but the neglected gate made the Manor that owned it seem even less inviting, and made any trespassers a bit more wary of the dangers that lay behind the looming gate.

"I think it's got character." Draco remarked calmly, and Lucius turned to stare at his son for a moment. Both father and son connected their gazes yet again, then returned their eyes to the gate and the Manor that overshadowed it.

Lucius reached up his hand and touched the metal bars reminiscently. "Home." He murmured, more to himself than for any other reason. Such a foreign word. Home. He had not had a home for an entire year. Now that was over though. Now he was home.

Though Lucius knew there was a slight hitch in his dream of home. His dream of home involved a certain handsome man with deep green eyes –but of course, what would his home be without Draco? Nothing; just as it wasn't quite complete without his mate.

As he looked over to Draco, he thought, _I only have half a home so far, but we will be complete soon, Draco. You too fill feel the connection to Harry. It will be slight, but because Harry and I have always shared something, and you and I share something, then it only makes sense that you should feel _something_ in his presence._

Lucius mused to himself that it was probably only Draco's cocky attitude that had forfeited their friendship from the get-go. Draco's misunderstood attachment to Harry through Lucius had caused Draco to act oddly when around Harry, and the younger veela had merely redirected that attachment to a more reasonable form of distribution. Hate. Holding true the saying though, 'There is only a fine line between love and hate.'

* * *

The front door swung open without so much as a creak and Lucius smiled inwardly. At least the house elves had remained on top of the maintenance of the house.

They stood in the foyer for a large amount of time as Lucius took in the familiar manor entrance. The place was eerily quiet, but it had a warm homely feeling to it that Lucius had more than always enjoyed. Whilst Lucius' gaze wandered around the foyer, Draco scrutinized his father's appearance.

Too skinny. No luster. His father used to radiate a presence of perfection and he had always wanted to radiate that same presence, but he had always thought it would be impossible to 'glow' more than his father. It startled him now, to be able to look at his father and know that he looked more impressive and well put-together. He had tried to remain silent all the way from the harbor home. It had been hard to stop the questions from flowing from his mouth, but he wanted his father to be the one to start the long conversation that he knew they should have. It didn't seem as if Lucius wanted to talk about anything though. He seemed just as content to keep his secrets the way he always had when Draco was younger.

Draco wouldn't allow that though. He was older now. He wasn't a child, and it had been he who had had to sustain his father for the past year. He deserved this conversation. He deserved to have all of his questions answered, and more importantly, he deserved to be able to have his father to himself for a while.

The young veela new his father would be craving his mate more and more now that he was capable to go searching for him, but… Draco's wants seemed to conflict with Lucius' wants, and Draco selfishly thought he deserved this small amount of time he'd asked for. He deserved to be awarded with his father's presence after all the labor and effort he'd put into helping his father.

He deserved something for compensation!

When Draco came back to himself he realized that Lucius had been staring at him for a while with a quiet calculating gaze.

Draco was about to speak his mind on the matter with some rather harsh words, but his father beat him to it.

"Draco." Lucius whispered, and he seemed nervous for the slightest of moments, but soon his gaze hardened into a firm smirk. "I'm sure you'd like to have a talk with me, but I'd rather not smell like a sewer a moment longer than necessary." He spoke, seeming to consent to his son deserving to be in control of the situation. After all, Draco had been the head of Malfoy Manor for an entire year –it wouldn't be simple for him to just give up that dominance, and as far as Lucius was concerned, he could have it after this week was over.

Draco began to feel his father wanting to take the lead again, so he decided to consent to what his father wanted. Did it really matter if they talked now, or after his father was clean and presentable to the world again? If he had been in Azkaban for a year as Lucius had, would he really want to keep that grime and smell on him one moment longer?

"Of course!" Draco laughed softly and a grin spread across his face. "Do you think I want to smell you any longer than necessary?" They smirked at one another. "Come down after your bath and meet me in the den so that we can converse." Draco added, feeling an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach for giving his father something akin to the commands he had received as a child.

Draco left for said den to pour himself some fire-whiskey whilst he waited for his father, and Lucius left to take the many staircases up to his bedroom that –as Draco had promised in one of his last letters- was blessedly free of his ex-wife.

It almost caused him to laugh aloud when Draco ordered him to do things like that. Their relationship had definitely changed completely the day Lucius told Draco who his mate was and how he would need to depend on Draco for an entire year to keep him living; obviously not in so many words, but he had known that things would be changing in Draco's mannerisms toward himself. It was just something that was bound to happen, and he had accepted that completely. He would be taking back his role as father eventually, but he and Draco would never have the same relationship they had shared when he was merely a dependant child.

* * *

The portraits along the halls were looming figures –each and every one of them with a firm sneer in place across their faces as they watched him disdainfully as he passed by. Not a one of the aristocratic portraits of the Malfoy line that he passed had been impudent enough to speak one word of his appearance as he passed.

He smirked evilly as he passed by one of his late aunt's portraits. She had been an ugly witch in his opinion, and when he had been an insolent child he had made fun of her every day that he had passed by her portrait. Her screams about his audacity had always followed him down the hall as he would dash off to lessons on something or other. He had always loved to torment her. It was almost like a hobby that neither of his parents had discouraged, but he had eventually realized that they were watching his idiosyncrasy to see when he would mature enough to stop such things and become a Malfoy without being constantly told to do so.

He had eventually stopped doing it every day, but the fun in it never wore off of him, even through his years as an adult.

"Hag!" He called glaring at her evilly as he passed in his smooth gait. She glared death at him as her eyes widened with outrage.

"You horrible blonde wretch! You are a disgrace to the Malfoy name with your betrayal to your wife and to the Dark Lord! You are the epitome of–" She shouted.

Her comments had so little effect on him, that he merely laughed at her attempts. He always loved playing with her because he always won with his elegant dismissal of her threats and curses.

"And _you_, my dear, are the epitome of every vial thing that exited Voldemort's body the moment he was killed." Lucius told her cheerily. "Cheers!" He saluted her as he rounded another corner to the wing of the manor that had belonged to himself and his ex-wife, but was now his alone to play with. His childhood room had been along this same wing, but he had wanted a different room for his marriage whilst still remaining near his favorite portrait.

"Lucius BLOODY Malfoy!" She screamed after him, her face flushed with how he had riled her up and ruined any kind of patient mask she had attempted to use to begin with. Nearly forty years of torment could do that to a portrait, Lucius mused. "I curse you and hope you never attract this new mate of yours!" She shouted after his retreating form as he made it to his door. "Who would want an ancient carcass like yours, with your thin hair and gangly frame anyway! Certainly no one worth enough to be married to a Malfoy!"

He drowned out her words as he opened his door and walked into the warm room. The house elves had lit the fire for him thankfully. The room was so large and had such large windows –even a balcony- that two huge fireplaces were necessary. Each fireplace was lit thankfully and the room had a content atmosphere to it.

Detail need not be described for the fantastical rooms. Lucius knew all of the rooms by heart and could find his way around the gallant furniture and beautiful Muggle paintings that hung along the walls. Works of Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt were a few of the personal works he had collected for his own amusement. (Though he appreciated Picasso's brilliance, he was not too fond of most of the man's works, so he therefore had not bothered buying one to display here.)

He had become enthralled with Muggle painting when he was merely a child and he had first seen the beauty of Michelangelo's _The Creation of Adam_, and Rembrandt's _The Sacrifice of Abraham_. Of course, he hadn't been interested enough to learn much about the Muggle bible, but the paintings had been captivating. You didn't have to be religious in order to love those paintings. Lucius only wished that those painters had been alive when he was younger so that he could have employed them to making painting specifically for himself. It was really the only good thing about Muggles. They had no other decent qualities and were perfectly vial, but their arts were their one endearing quality.

As he entered his elaborate bathroom he realized that a bath had already been started for him in his musing –probably by one of his favorite house elves, Eva, who had been his personal elf since he was merely a child.

Stripping himself of his soiled clothes and tossing them into the corner to later be burned, he stepped up to a large mirror hanging against the wall with a thick metal border of bonze. He looked over his upper body with a grimace. His rib bones were a bit too visible for his liking. His skin had a sickly pasty texture that he immediately hated now that he could properly look himself over.

It was a good thing he would be resting with Draco for the week, or he would be worrying himself about his mate's reaction to his appearance. No. Everything was better this way.

Lucius stepped up his pace a bit as he remembered his son waiting for him to bathe and make his appearance again.

As Lucius finished letting his critical eye skim his own body, he walked over to the large steaming copper tub and submerged his body slowly with a throaty moan of appreciation for the temperature of the water. Eva must have added some of his favorite oils because the water smelled divine and he knew that wonderful scent would be seeping back into his skin once more.

After letting himself soak for five minutes or so, he took up a sponge and began to scrub off all the muck that had accumulated since his last washing –if one could call it that. (A small pail of filthy water to clean yourself with was not what would fall under Lucius' description of a washing. As far as he was concerned, he had remained filthy for an entire year, so this scrubbing would have to count for all of that.)

After nearly a quarter of an hour of scrubbing at ever nook and cranny of his body, Lucius had finally thrown the sponge into a waste basket at the far side of the room with an accurate throw and moved onto the mop of string on his head called hair. Something would have to be done. These dreads were not the silky golden locks Lucius had once prized of himself. After a few good washings, however, his hair would be up to par for any hand to run through it, especially Harry's.

His fingers began to massage oils into his scalp that had always kept the dandruff away, then came the actual washing with sweet smelling thick concoctions that he had been special ordering since he had hit his teenage years.

Ah! So many small luxuries that he had missed entirely too much.

* * *

He exited the bathroom -nearly completely dry- with a long towel wrapped around his thin waist.

Lucius was startled out of his thoughts of his soon-to-be lover when he heard his son's voice echo through the room.

"You're thinner than I thought." Draco commented as his eyes caught on his father's ribs for a moment. "What would you like Eva to bring us to eat while we talk?"

Lucius looked around the room again and caught sight of the familiar looking house elf. The barest of smiles graced his lips at the familiarity of her. She had always been a constant through his ever-changing life, and that was always something that he appreciated.

"I suppose a tray of meat, vegetables, and fruit with pumpkin juice and a phial of nutrients potion would be sufficient." He told her gently.

She bowed her head to him and disappeared with a small pop.

With that taken care of Lucius returned his gaze to his son.

"Did you need something?" He asked him as they remained still.

"No." Draco answered coolly. "I merely decided that it would be more comfortable, and less walking for you, if we spoke and ate up here." The veela responded and Lucius could here the hint of concern in his voice.

Instead of overreacting and fighting back against the thoughts his son was having of him being an invalid in some way, he decided it was nice to have someone worrying about him for a change. Perhaps he would allow Draco this platonic worry for him.

"Very well." Lucius bobbed his head once, then made his way around his son as he strode into the bedroom and searched his wardrobe. There were two wardrobes; one on either side of the extraordinarily large bed that sat in the middle of the room against the far wall.

The other wardrobe would most likely be empty since it had been Narcissa's for the many years that she had lived beside him. He shivered at the memory of her slobbery kisses that he had endured for the better part of two decades.

_Torture._ He thought blearily as he imagined how his mate would kiss him, and how they would spend the rest of eternity by one another's side –waking up in the same bed after a night of heated passion…

Lucius had apparently been taking too long with his apparel decision as Draco came up on his side and quickly pulled pajama trousers and a leisurely loose white blouse out of his closet, handing them quickly to his father before exiting the bedroom to impatiently await his father in the sitting room.

The older veela chuckled as his son left the room. _Impatient little brat._ He thought lovingly of his son as he began to dress after grabbing boxers as well. He imagined Draco had chosen these pajamas for him so that he would get that hint that Draco wanted him to rest after their talk. _Presumptuous, insolent…_ He began thinking with a warm smile. It put a warm feeling his heart to know that even though he had been somewhat impatient and cold to Draco as a father, that Draco had still realized how much he loved him and Draco had turned out as the perfect Malfoy in the end. Whether he wore a constant mask of indifference to the world anymore, Lucius didn't care. He just wanted his son to be happy. After all that Draco had done for him, he at least deserved that pleasure of running his own life without Lucius' opinions of his exploits. Draco was well brought up. He wouldn't do anything too stupid in life, and the older veela had great confidence that his son would uphold the pride of the Malfoy name throughout the ages that he lived.

It took moments to quickly dress, and a few minutes more to brush out his elongated blonde tresses. He felt that he needed a haircut, but he didn't have the time at the moment.

He stepped out into his sitting room barefoot and enjoyed the simple pleasure of wiggling his toes in the extremely plush carpet beneath his feet.

Simple pleasures.

For a moment he closed his eyes and wondered suddenly how erotic it would be to make love to Harry on this carpet, in front of the fire. Lucius fought the groan that was beginning to work its way up his throat.

He sat down on the long couch quickly before Draco could properly notice the turn his thoughts had suddenly taken.

A tantalizing scent caught his attention and Lucius looked down at the landslide of food that was laid out on the coffee-table.

Draco was seated comfortably in a fluffy lounge chair on his right with a half-eaten apple in one hand, and a goblet of pumpkin juice in the other. With a nod to the food, Draco gestured for him to eat before they talked.

Lucius eyed the food hungrily. He knew it would disturb his stomach badly if he jumped from what his small portions used to be before to suddenly all of this exquisite food in large amounts. He needed to pace himself. Eat a fair amount of only the healthy food now, then slightly more food at the next meal, and perhaps more meats by dinnertime, and so on. He would have to gradually work himself back to total health without causing a terribly upset stomach pains and digestion problems.

He picked up a pear and started to slowly eat it with small sips of pumpkin juice every now and then. A bit of plain bread, eaten with the banana came next. Lucius suddenly had the craving for applesauce –feeling that his stomach wasn't strong enough to actually manage an apple yet, and thinking it needed more juices. With a snap of his fingers and a slight call through his magical channel, Lucius summoned Eva and she popped up a moment later.

"Yes, Master Lucius?" She squeaked with a slow bow. She must have been quite old in house-elf-years considering she had been living since his great grandparents' time.

"Eva, would you bring me a bowl of applesauce please?"

She bowed before she popped away without a word. Lucius really didn't need to ask. She would do anything he told her to, but he kindly asked anyway, and she in return obeyed without a word or argument.

It took less than a minute for her to pop back up again and place a bowl with a fair amount of applesauce in it, on the table in front of Lucius.

"Very good." He told her and she popped away with a slight coloration to her cheeks. Usually he said nothing to her after her task was completed, but whenever he showed appreciation, it always caused her to blush deeply.

"Father." Draco called to him as Lucius picked up the bowl and began to slowly eat spoonfuls of the sauce.

Lucius glanced over to Draco with a calm gaze after his first spoonful. It really was quite good. Eva must add something to the concoction to make it taste sweeter. He really did appreciate her gestures to him.

Narcissa had once gone away on a trip to visit her cousin of some sort and a side of her family that Lucius didn't care to remember, but she had insisted on taking Eva with her for the visit. Lucius had fought her tooth and nail on the subject, but she wouldn't relent. Eva was their finest house elf, so of course Narcissa wanted her along, but Lucius didn't want Eva going and leaving him. He couldn't stand the other house elves. None of them had been with him as long as Eva had. None of them had tended to his every need like her. So of course, all of them irritated him all the while that Eva was away with Narcissa. That had been the year that Dobby had become his servant whilst he had visited Hogwarts. It had been when he had lost Dobby to his mate. How ironic? It had really only been part of that irritation with _everything_ that he had snapped and lost his temper. He really didn't miss the stupid elf. He was glad the traitorous little thing wasn't there anymore. Eva was much better, and now she was his servant again. He shared her with no one because Draco had his own personal elf named Lokey.

"So, Father." Draco tried again, interrupting Lucius' train of thought. "What are your plans?"

Lucius wasn't about to reply to that until Draco had clarified his meaning, so he took another spoonful of sauce and waited for his son.

"Plans to engage Potter." Draco clarified once he'd realized the issue of his father's silence.

Lucius sat up straight on the couch and leaned back onto the cushions with the sauce in his lap, and the spoon hovering over the bowl in his other hand. The older veela thought on that question for a long while before answering.

"I've thought of how I could meet him without causing suspicion. I've wondered whether it would be smart or not to send him a formal declaration of my intentions with him, or if I should find out where he lives and works to be able to meet him _coincidentally_ one day. Nothing seems right."

Draco seemed to sit calculatingly for a moment before taking a sip of wine from his goblet. Lucius realized Draco must have helped himself to his wine supply cabinet in the other corner sometime whilst he had been dressing. He looked so mature whilst drinking like that. Lucius got the distinct impression of it being himself when he was younger instead of Draco. How odd that they were so alike in mannerisms, yet wasn't that how all Malfoys were? No. Not all. Many were power-hungry asses, who refused to enjoy life at all. He had met several men like this throughout his life, and even some women as such, but he had firmly decided that neither he nor his son would ever turn out like that.

"Your thoughts keep straying." Draco announced to his father. "Where do they go, I wonder?" He murmured with a smirk changing his features.

"No." Lucius smiled slightly at his son. He could not remember smiling so much in his entire life, but after a year of sadness and emotionless moments, one tended to find everything contrary to that to be worthy of a smile. "Believe my words or not, I was thinking of you instead of my mate." Lucius told his son warmly and it seemed to brighten Draco's eyes. "How have you and Blaise been? Is he still the one to cause a sparkle in your eye?" The older veela wondered calmly.

Draco seemed to relax with the topic. "Yes." He spoke dreamily. "He is a quite amazing lover. The git seems to always win our arguments with a kiss to my cheek and the murmured words 'I love you' in my ear. I can't seem to keep myself angry with him."

"Do you love him?" Lucius asked curiously.

"I believe I have great feelings for him, but love is a great uncertainty with me. I can't… I can't distinguish what love is supposed to be." The younger blonde admitted and looked miserably toward his father, as if begging his counsel.

Lucius gave his son an understanding frown. "The only love I've ever known was my love for you, Draco." Lucius conceded. "Now that I know I have a mate, I feel like my life is just beginning and I feel I am now learning to yearn for what you are speaking. I am yearning for a love with my mate, but I can no more easily tell you what love is than tell you what a soul looks like. That seems to be just something that everyone –even myself- must figure out on their own." The older veela told his son, who nodded in understanding.

"I suppose." Draco sighed and a pregnant pause formed between them. _What was there to talk about now? What subjects could be breached? Which _should _be breached? Should they…?_

"Draco." Lucius cut off Draco's thoughts and snapped the gray eyes to his own silver orbs. "Why is the dark mirror missing from the entryway of the Manor?"

The younger blonde had to think about that for a moment. The mirror? That dreadful thing that used to connect Narcissa to the Black family and Mrs. Black in particular? Why would it not be there? Why was his father just suddenly asking about this particular item now? Draco narrowed his gaze in thought as he pondered things before returning his eyes to his father.

"Oh." He spoke with a sigh. He remembered now. "About four months after you were placed in Azkaban the Ministry felt it necessary to invade the Malfoy Manor in search for any dark objects that I may still choose to use to harm people. They felt it necessary to have an official come over here and look around the place to make sure nothing dangerous was left privy to me to use for my own evil will." The youth spoke venomously and with heavy sarcasm. "In short, they didn't trust the heir of Lucius Malfoy, infamous Death Eater, not to be evil. On the first –unexpected and un-forewarned- visit they took the mirror along with several unimportant trinkets of Mother's." Draco shrugged off the topic.

"Did they search the Manor thoroughly? How did they not take anything _important_?" Lucius questioned with a slight crease to his pale face. "I don't recall having time to lock _anything_ up properly. All the books and potions ingredients and–"

Draco cut Lucius' worry off with a swish of his hand in gesture for him to remain calm. "I made an _agreement_ with the official and anything that wasn't entirely obviously dark was overlooked. It was as simple as that."

The tone Draco used made Lucius think there was more to the topic, but he remained silent… for now.

"Father, you seem…" Lucius watched as his son stumbled for a word –using his hands to try and accentuate what he was trying to say. This amused the veela because he had never seen his son do such a thing. (Another acquired habit from the past year. He guessed.) "… sane." Draco finished finally.

For a moment the older blonde was caught off-guard. Sane? Well of course he was sane thanks to Draco, but… oh. He understood.

"You mean to say, I don't seem to have been affected by the Dementors?" Lucius queried with a raised brow -as elegant as always. Draco nodded numbly. He wasn't sure if he was broaching a bad topic with his father, to be talking about Azkaban so soon. Lucius sighed heavily as he pondered his words. "Well, yes, I would of course be more sane than any other ding-bat. I had _you_ through it all." Lucius told his son in a moment of tenderness. They both exchanged a glance of appreciation before Lucius hardened his features again. "I was meaning to ask you about this as well. When I was placed in Azkaban I was in a medium security area. Perhaps one Dementor went by a day. I didn't understand why my punishment was so light, but the only excuse I could come up with is that someone had spoken to the Ministry about my well-being and I assumed it was you."

The other man's eyes widened comically as he shook his head. "I hadn't even thought of that, to be totally honest with you. I didn't think it would be possible, and I hardly believed anything that _I_ could say would have any effect on what they would do for you." Draco shrugged. "Perhaps Severus spoke on your behalf." Draco suggested. This was quite curious indeed. Curious indeed.

"I hardly think the Ministry would care either way of what Severus would have to say to them. They will always look down upon him for being a Death Eater, even if he was a spy." Lucius stroked his chin roughly as he thought over the possibilities.

"Any influences left in the Ministry?" Draco asked thoughtfully.

"No. No. My foothold in the Ministry left with my incarceration." Lucius shook his head, as if to rid himself of the troubled thought.

Draco decided he didn't want to trouble his father with more thoughts just now. He smiled inwardly and turned back to his father for a more genial conversation.

"What would you like to do today?" Draco wondered with a gentle voice. "I imagine you'd like to rest, and in a proper bed, but I was thinking more toward the later portion of the day. It is hardly noon now. I believe it would be good for you to rest until dinner time, then we can either talk again or play a chess game perhaps?" The younger veela asked, his brow raised.

Lucius looked up to his son and offered a small smile of acceptance. "Rest sounds perfect, and perhaps a chess match later and an evening walk after dinner through the gardens."

Draco's smile faltered for a moment, then he laughed it off a bit nervously. "Of course." He stood, placing his drink down onto the table. "I shall have the gardens prepared and set a meal going for dinner with the House Elves."

Lucius watched as his son left his room quickly. He smirked as he watched the smaller man retreat from the room to hastily make for the kitchens. He guessed that the gardens weren't in the best of shape at the moment, but perhaps by the next time he was awake, they would be.

* * *

A/N: This took a while, but I wanted to make it long and leave it off at a good part. Hopefully it wasn't too boring. I know not much happened, but I promise stuff will begin happening in the next chapter. Perhaps even a 'Harry sees Lucius again' moment if I get to it. –shrugs- I suppose that depends on if my reviewers motivate me into it or not. I might just leave off at a cliffy. -ominous note-

**The beautiful and wonderful reviewers!**

**Ura-hd:** Eh, sorry if this chapter was a bit lacking. It takes a bit of time to set the stage for the fun-ness. It's coming soon though. I can feel it in my fingers.

**SweetPea-fairy: **I'm happy the luvy-duvy shit didn't throw you off. You'll see it here and there, but a lot more after the relationships start to advance. Glad to hear from you as always. Sorry it took so long. I was working on this little by little, and it is much longer than my other chapters so I hope that made up for its tardiness.

**Death-by-inkpen:** Thanks for the review, even if you were in a rush, I'm glad you still took the time to review. My ever-faithful writing buddy. –kisses-

**Fragonknight01:** Well, okay, 'fragon' it is. –chuckle- I wonder what you think of the story and it's pace? Do you have a favorite character? Any special requests I might be able to incorporate?

**Layce74:** SO glad you love it! –giggles- I promise to keep writing if you keep reviewing. –chuckle- Tell me what you like about the story? Who's your least favorite character in the Harry Potter books? I feel like killing someone off. –smiles- Well, I didn't mean it like that, but… anyway… thanks for reviewing. –kisses-

**Strega:** Holy crap! Your review was so LONG! It was fantastic! Thanks so much! I'm glad you like how Lucius is still himself. I strive not to change the characters _too_ much. And the mushiness was a personal favorite of mine. Not too much between Lucius and Draco in my radar's future, but some. Probably a lot more between Harry and Luc once the relationship gets moving. You're so observant! It's wonderful. It makes me feel like I've done my job well as a writer. –kisses- You're awesome! Thanks. –blush-

**Daftmeg:** Ah, I see you're also looking forward to the Harry/Lucius meeting. Who the hell wouldn't be? –chuckle- It's coming. Along with the drama and angst and all that fun stuff. I'm looking forward to writing it just as much.

**Jo Raven: **Hi! Jenna!

You changed your pen name!

Cool.

Sorry it took so long to update.

I promise to try and be better about it.

-smile-hands out cookie-dough to make up for it-

**ShatteredxDream:** yes, long live L/H slash! All major fans raise their hands! –raises both hands and toes- Glad to hear you're enjoying the slashiness. It will progress to more of the meetings thing in a chapter or two. Maybe the next one will be a cliffy if I feel evil. –grins-

**A-Brighter-Dawn:** Ha! _You_ updated, so _I_ updated. Tuche! (I probably spelt that wrong.) I made you cry? Really? –sniffle- Thanks! That's like the ultimate compliment. I could kiss you! I'll make you a deal. I'll update when you do. –smile- Fair?

**Dark-Fairie161:** The HP/LM stuff is on the run-way, and waiting to come in for a landing. I promise it'll be happening soon. Enjoy!

**Anna May:** As long as you like the lovy-duvy stuff, then in it shall go. –chuckle- I'll only put it in if you guys like it. Blow-pops and pocky? Sure. Why not?

**Elizabeth Annette: **Thanks. Glad that you like the story. Harry will be meeting Lucius again… _very soon._

**Xikum:** -blush- You make me feel like writing a zillion pages each chapter. That's why this was so long. It just took a little longer to come out because it was so long. Eh, I tried to email you to tell you that my author-alerts have been working just fine, but I couldn't access your email on your account. I think something is just wrong with the website. I tried though. I'm sorry I couldn't email you, but thank you so much for reviewing and looking for me even if the author alert didn't work!

**Lanku:** Thanks for your words. The luvy duvy stuff remains, but not as heavily. I promise.

**Immortal Memories:** You make me laugh. It's great that you like the story. I hope you continue to read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Yes, this did take a while. I sort of wrote most of the next chapter before I wrote this one because it was more fun, but I did this one today… on my _own_ day off this week. Hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 5

An entire year of sleeping on a hard uncomfortable bed without a pillow and hardly a blanket for warmth and you would think sleeping in a huge lavish bed with two comforters and twelve pillows would let him sleep like a baby.

Not so.

Lucius hardly slept for three hours before he had woken himself up from the fitful sleep. The bed was too comfortable. It would just never work. He hated that fact, but perhaps once he had his mate beside him, the bed would be more enjoyable and comforting.

He would figure something out later.

"Master Lucius." A voice called gently.

Lucius looked up from his storming emotions and thoughts to see little Eva standing in the doorway to his bedroom with two potions in hand.

"Yes, Eva." Lucius responded, his voice gruff from sleep, and his tone bored –aching for more sleep that would not be coming any time soon.

"Eva brought Master Lucius his medicine." Eva told him obediently with a small bow.

Lucius sighed heavily at her words. He hated the way the potion tasted, but it would do him good to get a nutrition potion down. He wondered, though, what the other phial in her opposite hand was.

"Master Snape brought to Master Lucius this." Eva explained as she slowly approached the bed. She leapt up onto the end of the bed as she neared it, then continued to gracefully walk toward her master without shaking the phials up at all. "Master Snape says 'stronger will you be than normal potion does' and 'better than potion you is taking before'." She nodded several times as she spoke, as if she approved of what Snape had told her. "Fix your bones, says he. Only two doses is needed, says he. _Very_ expensive, says he. Is powerful potions', says Master Snape. Is taking from sun up to sun up to work all good." She handed the phial she had been speaking of to Lucius. He uncorked it and promptly downed the whole thing without hesitation, thinking only of how much stronger it would make his weakened body. He didn't even notice the smell or the taste until it was already on his tongue. "Is very bad tastes, warns Master Snape." Eva added, a bit too late for use.

The combination of the terrible smell and the horrible taste on his sensitive body caused him to want to heave over the side of his bed, but he realized that the potion would then be useless, so he bared the attack until the taste was dulled considerably.

Lucius eventually looked back at Eva. "And that?" Lucius demanded a bit grumpily as he gestured to the other potion.

"Peppers up." She answered, her words a bit skewed, but the meaning got across to Lucius, and that's what was important. Draco and he had decided on a trip through the gardens, and for that he would need all the energy he could muster. He gratefully took the potion, much more aware of this one's taste and after-effects.

Returning the phials to Eva, Lucius began to rise and immediately knew that something was different. The potion was already taking affect. He could feel his legs holding him up with more ease now.

"I shall take another bath, then be down to the Dining Hall for a meal." Lucius informed the elf as he walked by her.

She nodded to him and disappeared with a pop.

With much more grace than earlier, Lucius made his way to the bathroom and undressed again. He started the water, but growled when he realized it wouldn't be the proper temperature for a while. He pulled a robe on to keep him warm while he waited for the infernal water to turn hotter. If his magic were strong he would be able to just spell it hotter, but as it was, he could hardly call the soap to his hand wandlessly.

* * *

Outside, on the other side of the Manor, Draco fell back onto an intricately designed stone bench that sat beneath a great willow tree which shaded him from the sun. 

"Oh, Merlin!" Draco panted as he wiped his forehead free of sweat with the handkerchief from his pocket. "It's bloody hot out here." He grumbled as he looked around at his finished work with satisfaction. Of course, he had enlisted the help of the half of the Manor's elves that weren't working on meals and tidying up all of the Manor's nooks and crannies that Draco hadn't cared for before. Even though had had half of the house-elves help in making the gardens presentable again, he had still needed to pour a great deal of his own magic into helping out. He had been working for most of the last two hours on recreating the integrity of the gardens.

It had been no easy task considering the gardens spanned most of the Malfoy lands. For nearly eight acres around the Manor, there were the beauty of gardens that had been seen by merely a select few, and beyond that were the forests and riding paths that had become overgrown as well. He had placed cooling charms on his clothing after the first five minutes of labor, but he still felt his skin was on fire from the bright sun.

"At least it's done." He murmured as he watched the remaining elves he hadn't sent back to the Manor, set the water fountains flowing, or put repellent spells on the plants to keep bugs away.

Draco heard a hissing from behind himself and froze with fear. He was just about to jump away when he remembered why the snake hadn't been driven away by the wards around the Manor that kept such creatures out.

He calmed his demeanor and turned his head to glare at the cobra. The snake glared back at him and flicked its forked tongue in his direction from its station atop the back of the bench where it had probably been napping before Draco had sat down.

"Hello to you too." Draco snapped grumpily.

He would be civil to the snake, but that didn't mean he had to like the stupid serpent. Just because he was a Slytherin didn't automatically mean he liked the slithering scaly killers.

His problems had started when he hadn't been able to figure out how to keep mice out of the Malfoy property with his wards. The little annoyances hadn't been repelled by the wards and Draco had been furious when he had seen one in the Manor after his first month of having it to himself. (How his father had gotten rid of them, he wasn't sure.) When Potter had first arrived, he had asked the man –though it was too painful for his pride to admit it aloud, he inwardly knew that Potter had more knowledge on charms than he did- if there was some spell he could use to repel the mice and rats that would surely follow. Potter had smiled at him and told him he would solve Draco's problem.

He had left the next morning for a short trip to Diagon Alley, then Hogsmeade, and when Potter had returned he had had a two boxes with him.

Within the remainder of the week that Potter had been with him, Draco had seen an immediate decrease in the little bastard mice, until there were none that he saw.

On the last day that Harry had been there, Draco had gone up to him and thanked him for whatever he had done. Potter had merely smiled knowingly at the blonde, who had then assumed that he would owe the other man something. However, Potter had said nothing about it and merely nodded before going off.

It hadn't been until a month later that Draco had gotten his first glimpse of Potter's little helper. The blonde had tried every spell he knew to frighten or kill the snake, but nothing worked. Every spell that hit the snake did absolutely nothing to it.

Finally running out of options, he had immediately fire-called Potter about the serpent. Apparently, a certain green-eyed man had placed a very powerful protection spell on the snake to keep it safe from such attacks. He had demanded that Potter rid him of the snake, but Potter had told him that it was either, deal with the snake, or deal with the mice.

Draco had growled, but accepted finally, as long as the serpent wouldn't come into his house. Potter had responded that he had told the snake to remain outdoors and the veela had grudgingly agreed to its presence. That was when Potter had told him about what had been in the other box.

A cat.

He had said that the snake wouldn't be able to keep up with all the mice by itself, so he had bought a cat as well that would stay outside and merely needed a water bowl with a warming charm on it during the winter months, and perhaps some food scraps during the winter as well to keep the cat around.

Draco hated to admit it, but the snake and cat had kept his home free of mice for an entire year so far and both animals had remained civil to each other as well as Draco whenever he ventured out of the house and saw them.

The veela stood from his bench and looked around, watching as the sun bounced off the stunning autumn flowers and shrubbery everywhere.

"This should make Father happy." He whispered to himself with an inward smile of pride at what he had done. A pop sounded in front of him, and he spun gracefully to see Eva bowing slightly to him.

"Master Lucius is awakes, Master Draco." She told him. "He took his potions' and takes a bath before he wills come down for a meal."

Draco nodded to her. "Is the food prepared for him?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"Yes, Sir." She bowed again.

"Very well. Go off and make sure that things are ready for my father." Draco swished his hand at her and Eva was gone within another second's time.

The veela sighed as he sat back down for a moment, tired. He wished suddenly that he could lean on someone, that someone was there to hold him. He missed his lover, but… he had missed his father more dearly for the past year and he wasn't about to give up his alone-time with his father just yet. He would see Blaise next week. It was only Saturday after all.

* * *

Lucius passed his favorite painting with a few quick-witted insults and made his way through the corridors until he had finally made it to the main staircase. There were so many paths in the Malfoy Manor that it was hard to keep track of what floor you were on at times. 

As Lucius reached the ground floor, he regained his bearings and strode off to the Dining Hall, which was a formal room for a large group of guests. Thankfully, though, he wouldn't have to endure trying to find all of his food over such a long table. The house-elves had managed to transfigure the table smaller and set up a cozy little meal for himself. Another place was set, and Lucius was happy to see his son already sitting there, with changed clothes.

He wore long house-robes that were a dark green, with several long gold rope-tassels tying it together that crossed from back to front, accentuating Draco's form nicely, and tying on his hip. His legs crossed revealing black trousers and boots beneath them.

Lucius had merely worn plain black silk robes that loosely fit his form, and gray trousers underneath his robes. The older veela smiled slightly down at his son as he sat and crossed his ankles to keep from abusing his weak joints further. "Good afternoon, Draco." The man greeted with a nod.

Draco responded with his own nod and a salute with his wine goblet. "To you, Father." Draco drank a gulp, then placed his drink down beside his plate. The younger man sat forward enough to pull a phial from inside his robe, and hand it to his father. "The second nutrients potion." He answered the unasked question calmly, and sat back once his father had taken his burden from him.

"I thought I was supposed to wait twenty-four hours before taking another?" Lucius responded with a raised brow as he puzzled over the potion.

"No." Draco shook his head patiently. "Severus said that it would take that long to work fully, but you can take the potion at intervals of every three hours. Perhaps you should take that at dinner time, but I just wanted you to have it so that I wouldn't forget to give it to you."

"When did you see Severus?" Lucius queried as they began to scoop food onto their plates. It was only a snack after all; dinner wouldn't be until seven. A bowl of assorted fruit, a small tray of meats, a bowl of salad, a basket of breads, pitchers of juice, a bottle of wine, and next to each of their plates was a small bowl of soup of each of their preferences.

Lucius tried the Crème of Broccoli, to see if his stomach would agree, and when nothing protested he picked up a piece of unbuttered bread and continued. After a short while later he decided he would wait until dinner to try any wine, and he poured himself a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Oh, Severus dropped by while you were asleep, knowing you would need the potions. He asked how you were and all that blather, but he had to return to Hogwarts for obvious reasons." Draco munched on the meat and bread, foregoing his soup and the fruit.

"Obvious reasons?" Lucius repeated, slightly perplexed.

Draco raised his brow with amusement, as if thinking that Lucius should remember why. When his father continued to look at him questioningly he wiped his mouth with the napkin from his lap. "The school year is starting soon…" Draco trailed off as the light went on in his father's head.

The older man nodded as he continued with his meal. It was quite brainless of him to forget the coming school year that would plague his good friend with more bratty pupils, but it really hadn't been very necessary for him to remember such a thing since Draco wasn't in school anymore. That thought caused a idea to strike him like lightning.

"Will you be attending a university, Draco? Is there something you would like to do? I know that you work at the Ministry, but… is that what you want to do for life?" He questioned.

Draco watched his father as he spoke, but he remained silent for a while as he ate his food and considered those questions. After finishing his mouthful, he wiped his mouth again and calmly looked toward his father.

"Well, I was hoping to find my mate, and eventually settle down in life. Perhaps start some kind of business doing something. I hope one day to start a family, and keep a peaceful easy life going for any children that my mate and I have as well. I wasn't planning on going on to a university for any reason. There isn't any business management courses that I could take that would contain any information that you couldn't tell me, and for now, my job at the Ministry is all I need." Draco told him. He really hadn't thought about it all that much, but now that he started to think about having a family, the urge to do so began to grow.

Lucius watched his son as he realized the implications of what he wanted. "Son." Lucius called gently across the table. The soft word brought Draco back to the present, and he worriedly looked to his father for whatever guidance he could bestow at the moment. "You feel it, don't you? The urge to mate and start a family?" He asked.

"Yes." Draco told him with a slight whimper. "Don't you feel the same?" He asked, his curiosity and worry mixing.

"Not as strongly." Lucius responded shortly. "I had you, whether it be with my true mate or not, I had you, and that settled my urges long ago. I, however, can feel a new pull, much stronger than before, that wants me to have another child –one with my mate." He smiled, his eyes glazing as he imagined such a thing. "Perhaps more than one if he'd want that."

Draco smiled in a contented way as he imagined having a little brother or sister, then he worried again about his own children. "Father, if Blaise is my mate, could we… have children still?" Draco queried. He had never thought of such a thing before. He had sought information on his powers and what he was, but most of being a veela didn't affect him anyway, so why worry? In his searches for information, he had never come across anything on having children.

Lucius looked over to his son as his glazed look disappeared. "Yes. Any creature with veela blood in them has the ability." He nodded. "There is a spell in the ancient dialect which is an altered form of elvish that must be spoken when you enter your mate, but it will only work with your true mate. The spell will only last for about an hour, so you have that long to finish intercourse. The veela magic will do the rest to create the child. For two women, it is only the veela that can become pregnant, and they must be kissing when they orgasm. If both women are veela, then it is the veela that speaks that spell that impregnates the other; and the spell is also different for women than it is for men." The older blonde explained.

Draco listened with rapt attention as he heard all of this. He didn't really care about the women part because he himself wasn't a women, so it wouldn't matter, but the part about two men together caused a few questions to come to mind.

"So… are you saying that either male may become pregnant in a same sex relationship?" He asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

Lucius nodded as he popped a piece of fruit into his mouth. "Would you want to bear your children, if Blaise is your mate?" He asked curiously, one brow arched in a truly Malfoy-ish manner.

The younger blonde was automatically about to say 'no', but then he began to think of it. To have Blaise's child inside of him… no, it didn't sound as appealing as it had a moment ago.

"Son, what do you feel right now?" Lucius asked before Draco could answer.

Draco raised his brow at his father in wonder, silently asking him to clarify.

"Do you ache for Blaise? Do you miss him terribly and wish to fly to his arms right this moment? Do you think he could be with someone else right now? Does that cause jealousy to run through you?" The older man questioned smoothly.

Draco frowned as he tried to answer all of that. "I hadn't even been thinking that he would be cheating on me right this moment." Draco gave it some thought. "I don't think he would. I'm not worried about it. If he does, then he isn't my mate." He answered.

Lucius nodded to his son. "And do you miss him terribly right now?"

"I will not forego my time with you, Father, if that's what you are thinking. I wish to stay here with you above all else." Draco assured worriedly.

Lucius bobbed his head up and down, then looked Draco directly in the eyes, with a decision obviously made. "I don't think he's your true mate, Draco."

Draco's mouth fell open slightly, before he closed it and narrowed his eyes. "How do you mean?" He responded.

"Well," Lucius began, "even for a partial veela, like yourself, the longing to be with the one you love should overcome the urge to be with family. It should overcome everything in your mind. The fact that it doesn't, doesn't give me much faith in Blaise as your partner. You are also not suspicious of others touching him. You appear far too calm to be worrying over someone else touching what is yours."

"Do you feel these things for Pott- eh, Harry?" He corrected. "You seem worried, yet calmer than I would imagine you being since you are a full veela yourself."

"Yes." Lucius nodded once as his eyes clouded with the worry those words had brought to mind. Several emotions flashed over his face as he thought of others touching his mate and who he had been with while he had been in prison, but he brought himself back to his conversation with Draco as he took a sip of his juice. "I do worry, but I can't fault him for anything. I haven't been around to influence his feelings for me at all, and he has been working so dangerously, which I worry about constantly as well. I also am not worrying as much because I know that I am not up to my own standards yet, and am therefore, not good enough to be put on display for my mate. I am not pursuing him right now, so I am not quite worrying about where he is or who he is with. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Draco sighed as he pushed his plate away from himself. "Yes, I understand. It's just a bit disheartening to know that the man I have been spending so much of my time with really isn't the one I am destined for." He growled in his throat, then settled and looked back to his father.

"Make the decision for yourself, Son. You can't run solely on my opinion. I am not half-veela. I don't know your instincts first-hand; I only know my own. I only know that the moment I realized Harry was my mate and that Voldemort was the threat to his life, that that bastard must die. I watched as Harry was taken away from that battle and I hated every single person that touched him, and took him farther away from me. I treasured every moment I had by his side. I felt jealous when I saw him standing beside that Granger girl during the trial. I loved him when I saw him, I was sad when I was away from him. That is what I felt…" He rubbed at his temples in a frustrated way, then turned back to Draco. "Could we perhaps speak of other things?"

"Of course." Draco nodded vigorously. "I am finished. Are you?"

Lucius agreed.

"Then let's take a walk through the gardens." Draco suggested as he stood.

Lucius stood with him, suddenly feeling his lack of appetite returning.

"Yes, that would be good." Lucius walked beside his son solemnly, but when he remembered why his son had left him before when he'd mentioned the gardens he chuckled aloud, causing Draco to turn on him in query.

"What?"

"So, Draco, what have you been doing since I fell asleep?" Lucius queried as he looked over to his son with a knowing smirk across his face.

Draco's face flushed slightly, causing his father to laugh harder.

The mood had adjusted to a happier one and Draco was adamant to keep it that way.

* * *

The gardens were beautiful. More beautiful than Lucius had remembered them, and Lucius told his son just as much. He complimented him several times on his wonderful job and Draco felt his ego swell at these compliments to his performance. 

As they continued their walk through the gardens, they began to think of things to start a discussion about. It was Lucius that spoke first:

"So, you said that you might start a business of you own, what would you want that business to be?"

Draco walked with his hands clasped behind his back to keep himself from fidgeting with his hands stupidly, and his eyes focused on the sky as it darkened into nighttime. "Well, I suppose," He debated his choices for a while, "I'm not quite sure." He finished. "Perhaps a book store, or restaurant." He shrugged. "I just know that the prospect of living my life knowing that all my support isn't from Malfoy money, but instead its what I made for myself, is a prospect that I look forward to. I've always been told I was a brat, and 'Daddy's little girl' so to speak, but even though I didn't let those words effect me, I still worried when I was younger that I would never become my own man." He looked over to his father for a reaction, but Lucius was just calmly watching the sun set as he listened to his son. "You know?" Draco asked as he suddenly stopped his steps to see if his father was even listening to him.

Lucius stopped a step after Draco, and when he turned to look at his only child Draco saw the pride and love reflected for him in his father's eyes. "I know." Lucius whispered to him with a proud smile.

Draco fought the blush that crept up on his cheeks at the look his father was giving him.

"You've grown up so well." Lucius told him. "I could never have hoped for a better child. You know how proud I am, don't you?" Lucius asked softly and Draco nodded. "Double whatever you _think_ I think of you. I love you that much more." He told him as he bumped his shoulder against Draco's.

Draco blushed, even though he had tried not to. He had never been this close to his father when he was younger –not meaning physically, but on a different level. He had loved and looked up to his father, but he had never received praise like this before. The younger veela felt somehow like he had completed a great challenge in life. He had fought his whole life to make his father proud of him, and it had finally happened. He had proven himself without realizing it. Suddenly, all he had done this past year, and for his many years before that seemed so worth while. Everything was perfect now.

Well, almost everything. They both still had to find and sway their mates to their influences, but in the sense of father and son, Draco felt completed. He didn't feel as if he would ever have to prove himself again, but he would still keep trying unconsciously.

They had rounded the back of the Manor now and were walking past the stables when it suddenly started to rain.

"Drat." Draco cursed as he looked up to the darkened sky. "Bloody hell!" He cursed again under his breath.

"Some things never change." Lucius murmured, referring to the weather and not his son's comments.

"Fucking weather."

"Language!" Lucius said finally, though the smirk of amusement across his face belied his true feelings. He knew why Draco was so vehement about the weather. It had interrupted a wonderful moment between them.

Lucius had known his son was content with life the moment he had spoken of how prideful he was. He too felt that contentment and had wanted it to continue, but that was the way things were. Things happened.

They turned and headed back to the Manor at a quick pace; not wanting to run, but also very cold and getting soaked by the rain.

* * *

They shook off as they reentered the Manor through a back entrance from the gardens. 

Draco growled angrily as he felt the rain soaking through to his skin. "Bloody weather." He groaned again.

"Masters!" A house-elf exclaimed at seeing both Malfoys quite thoroughly soaked.

"It's raining outside in case you haven't noticed!" Draco snapped at her and she cringed away.

"Calm yourself." Lucius warned and Draco took a deep breath.

"How long until dinner is ready?" Draco asked the elf more calmly this time.

"Dinner is ready in an hours half past." She answered with a slight whimper in her tone.

"Retrieve us when it is ready." The younger blonde told her firmly. She bobbed her head before disappearing.

Draco pulled his wand from his wet robes and pointed it at himself before mumbling a drying spell and becoming completely dry. Trouble was, his hair immediately frizzed from the sudden drying and it stuck up at all angles terribly.

Lucius snorted at the sight, then tried covering it with a cough before dignifying himself and fighting a light smirk as he composed his appearance so as not to wound his son's ego.

The younger veela yelled in annoyance. "Forgot about that part of the bloody drying spell." He growled as he tried to flatten his hair with his hand. "You want to be dry, or wet?" He demanded of his father as he glared at him for laughing.

"Just my clothes if you don't mind." Lucius responded, vaguely wondering what had become of his wand and if he would need a new one.

Draco snorted as he mumbled the spell again and dried his father's clothes.

Lucius plucked at his now-dry clothes and smelled them with a snarl. "They stink." He commented.

"I'm not a bloody expert in charms." He responded with a frown. "I can't fix the smell. Would you rather be wet again, then the smell would fit you?" Lucius glared heavily at his son for his lip and they silently agreed to move on to other topics before a loud knock came to the door. "NOW, WHO THE FUCK COULD _THAT_ BE!" Draco shouted in frustration as he stalked off toward the door.

Without hesitation Draco snapped one of the large double doors open and gasped as his brain caught up with him.

"Hello, Draco." The man spoke, his eyes glued to the blonde's head. "Nice hair."

Draco was too shocked at the identity of his visitor to retort back a comment for the remark about his hair.

"Hey, Harry." Draco murmured in shock.

* * *

A/N: I'm terrible, I know. I have the next chapter totally planned out though, so it's just a matter of making it worthy of my wonderful reviewers. Yeah! Harry's on the scene! Woohoo! –happy dance- 

**Thanks to my FABULOUS reviewers, without which there would be no story because I'd be too lazy to write it.**

**Death-by-inkpen:** "Squee" Is that a word? I don't think so, but I love it! Thanks for taking time out of your rushed life to review little old me. -kisses-

**Jo Raven:** Ah! I threw a little bit of Harry in there. Thought I'd tease, yet add, you know? Hope you like it. –squee-

**ShatteredxDream: **Eh? –sweat drophands over cookie- I'm sorry I forgot about your cookie. Well, here's my update. It was a little… overdue? Yeah, that's the word. I spent all of my only day off working on it though, so… hope you like.

**DaftmMeg:** It thrills me that you'd much rather read my story than write your essay. How did that go by the way? –chuckle- Glad you liked the Draco/Lucius family thing. I'm a little sappy when it comes to writing the part of someone's 'daddy'. It's really simple, you see. I just write exactly what I wish my dad would be like. –sigh-

**Lakuniko:** Hey! Thanks for just randomly reading and reviewing my story! I have a dog named Niko. Your name kind of reminded me of that. Niko says hi. Niko was trying to distract me from updating all day… and it worked, but he's sleeping now, so I'm updating. –chuckle-

**Layce74: **Kill the Dursleys? I can work with that. I've just thought of someone else to kill off as well. You'll find out later, I suppose.

**Dark-Faerie161:** It took me forever to spell your name correctly. –gr- Eh, hope you like what I'm doing with the story. If you have anything to add or comment about, or if you think I'm leaving something out, please don't hesitate to add that in your review somewhere. I hate forgetting stupid stuff.

**Fragonknight01:** Lucius is my second fav. –cuddle with plush Lucius- Thanks for the compliment. –sends love and cookies-

**Strega:** Feel free to always leave really long reviews to my story. Thanks for noticing all those subtle little hints I added. It makes me feel good to know that my extra effort is noticed. –blush- Hehehe, Lucius didn't even have to last a whole week. Harry's already here, but then he's also not ready so… when next we see our fav veela it will be… panic mode Lucius. –chuckle- Should be fun to write. PS. I'll never get annoyed with long reviews. I wish some of my closer friends appreciate slash fics, if they did then I probably wouldn't be so starved for reviews to tell me what I'm doing right and wrong.

**Yana5:** Ha! Harry finally makes the scene! Chapter seven should be interesting. –smirk-

**Immortal Memories:** You were the first person to comment on my little hint. We'll just see where that plays out to. I only drop hints, I don't reveal the story too soon.

**Lanku: **You rhymed. –smile- I'm glad some people were paying attention to my little hints. I'm not divulging any secrets yet though… especially ones that I don't know the answer to. –chuckle- Holy shit! An 80 chapter story! Wow. I can't imagine rambling on for that long. –sigh- Eh, yeah, I do beta. I have a couple of authors as crazy as I am that tolerate my comments. –smile-

**A-Brighter-Dawn:** You updated a story of yours. I'm not sure what it was because it wasn't the one that love of yours, but… I suppose it's fair that I update too. You called me a Slytherin! I laughed so hard when I read your review that I nearly peed myself. All my friends were looking at me strangely because I had been online with my cell phone when I'd read it. I'm glad you liked all the details I put in. The painting thing was a stroke of genius that just sort of popped into my head when I thought of a spunky young Lucius who needed some kind of outlet where he could be rude and nasty without having to wear a mask, you know? It was also kind of inspired by Mrs. Black screeching at everyone that walked by, except this was a person yelling at a painting. Ah, and Harry has finally arrived. This should prove to be an interesting meeting, though you'll have to wait to see their reactions to each other.

**Jen:** Thanks for reviewing. Hope your enjoying the mean little cliffy I put up. You'll get to see loads of Harry in the next chapter, so don't worry about that. –smiles evilly-

**Oh Slashy One:** Brilliant name. –chuckle- Glad you like the story. Thanks for the thought.

**Ura-hd:** I'm very happy that you think I did the father/son interactions well. I was worrying about it a bit. Thanks for noticing the work that I put into this. Hope you review again.

**Anna May:** Thanks for the compliments. I tired to form their relationship as best I could, and now Harry's on the scene. Should prove to be quite… interesting, neh?

**Prongsbalcks:** Yeah! Harry finally got to the scene! What will happen? Tune in to the next episode of… -snort- Yeah, I'm a weirdo. Thanks for reviewing this weirdo.

**Nemi Jade:** Yeah, Harry's here. I wouldn't leave you hanging for too long. Did you honestly I could write a week's worth of shit for Lucius to do without Harry around. There's only so much pining-for-Harry I can write. –laughs- Hope you enjoy.

**Saavik13: **Yes, I agree. It is nice reading a story where Draco isn't scared shitless of Lucius, or that Lucius is beating Draco or forcing him into Lord Voldemort's bed or something.

**Veresti Tristian:** Did I spell you name right? I hope so. You read my profile? Cool. Here I thought it was just a bunch of rubbish that people skipped over. –blush- Thanks for taking such initiative with my story. Thank you _so_ much for commenting on what you liked. Thanks for saying _something_. It makes me feel like sending you a box-load of homemade cookies or something. –smooch- You're so wonderful. Thank you. When I wrote a lot of reaction etc. doing this, I reread it and thought, 'This doesn't seem very Malfoy-ish,' then I thought 'If _I_ were this veela person _and_ I were a Malfoy, I would still act like this' and if people don't realize what I mean when I write that stuff, then that's too bad. I'm glad you saw it like that, and thanx for the confidence.

**Anux:** Yeah, Harry/Lucius interaction is on the horizon. You'll just have to be patient. –sigh- I know it's terrible to say that, but hey… at least Harry's _there_. –laugh- Things are progressing!

**HecateDeMort:** -blush- Thanks. Hope you enjoy.

**Betsanne:** I'm thrilled that you like my story. It never gets old hearing that a zillion times. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well as the last few.

**Review if it suits your fancy to make me want to update. I already have the next chapter half written, so all it will take is initiative!**

**Love you all! –smooch-**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This chapter is very different from the last five, so I'm hoping I worked it right. Please, read and enjoy!

**Dedication:** I don't dedicate many of my chapters, but I got this wonderful illustration for_Of Love's Bestowing_from this wonderful reviewer named **_Strega_** and I just couldn't let that go without saying something. I wish I could put it in the chapter. Thanks **_Strega_**! I love you! -smooch- This is for you!

Chapter 6

"There it was… standing majestically in the pool of crystalline water. Its shining head of silky mane was glazed with water, causing the sun to form prisms of light off of the beautiful unicorn. Proudly upon its head protruded a spiraling horn that practically _glowed_ with power.

"The small princess was stopped in her tracks; her small feet nearly couldn't contain the urge to charge forward to this beauty. She wanted to hold and pet the beautiful creature, to show it all the love she could. It was an overwhelming desire that-"

"What does 'overwhelming' mean?" A small redhead asked as she sat rapt with interest over the story being told to her by her godfather. She usually didn't like to interrupt him while he was talking because it was rude, but he had explained that if she didn't know a word, she should say something, or she might miss an important part to the story.

The dark-haired man smiled calmly down on his goddaughter. "It means that something is so powerful that it just makes everything else seem unimportant." He told her gently as he adjusted her on his knee slightly.

"Like chocolate?" She asked, her tone full of innocence tainted with the maturity her godfather exuded onto her.

"No, more like," He thought for a moment with a hum in his voice, "the love I have for you. It's so strong that I would do anything for you. It's stronger than anything else. It's almost overwhelming." He kissed her cheek gently.

"Oh." She giggled as the beard stubble tickled her skin. "Okay." She nodded for him to continue as she licked her lips and leaned closer to him, excited.

"Where was I?" The man thought about it for a moment.

"The princess wanted to hold the unicorn." An amused voice cut in from the doorway to the living room. The fire brought out the man's fiery hair brilliantly as he leaned against the door jam and gestured for the dark-haired man to continue with the story.

The little girl looked up to her father and frowned. "I can stay up to hear the story, right, Daddy?" She asked, biting her lip adorably as she looked up to him with her eyes turning to mush.

The redhead chuckled at his child's antics and nodded. "As long as Uncle Harry doesn't mind finishing the story, I can wait." He responded as he looked back to his long-time friend. "You don't mind her, do you, Harry?" He asked with a grin.

"No." Harry answered him, carding his fingers through his hair. "Not at all." He looked back to the angel of a girl sitting on his leg. "So, she wanted to pet the unicorn." He looked for her nod before going on. "The princess remembered though, that the deer she had tried to approach earlier that day would always run off. Her father, the king, had told her it was because she was too noisy and the creatures were afraid of her. She didn't want this unicorn to fear her though, so she remained still. As she watched the beauty bathe in the pond of water, a figure moved in the shadows on the opposite side of the clearing. The princess gasped in fear as she saw an arrow being pulled up to aim at the creature. Just as she had made up her mind on what to do-"

"Elizabeth! Harry! I'm back!" A familiar voice shouted as they heard a door shut with a slam. "Where are you guys?" The female voice asked.

The little redhead, Elizabeth, growled angrily in annoyance as the story she was so intent on, was yet again interrupted.

Suddenly, the cause of the interruption entered the view of the doorway with a bag of groceries in her arms. The bushy-haired woman paused as she took in the scene of the living room –the fire was blazing in the hearth, little Elizabeth was sitting comfortably on Harry's knee, Harry was sitting in his favorite leather arm chair, her friend George stood in the doorway with a knowing smirk plastered over his face, and little Elizabeth looked downright pissed- then she sighed.

"You aren't telling her those silly stories again, are you? Harry, I thought we talked about this." The woman shifted the groceries onto her other hip, so that she could firmly arch her finger-shaking-arm (you know the one that parents always use to chaste their child) to place her fist on her slightly chubby hip.

The man in question at least had the grace to look a bit ashamed, though he didn't really appear sorry for what he had done.

"Ah, come on, 'Mione." George interrupted. "I don't think a bit of story-telling can really scar her for life. Besides, she's learning big-girl words."

She shot him her trademark glare and he silenced immediately. After he was sufficiently quieted, she returned her gaze to her other friend.

"What was it this time? Sword fighting? Dragon slayers?" She questioned with a raised brow. "You know, I wouldn't have such a problem with this if you just told stories about things that actually happened, like _King Author and the Round Table_."

"That's so _boring_ though!" Elizabeth whined as she glared at Hermione. "Uncle Harry tells the _best_ stories!"

"You weren't telling her about your school days, were you?" Hermione asked, with a dangerously low tone to her voice as she ignored the child and glared at Harry.

"No." Harry swished at her with his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I learned my lesson after you got mad at me for telling her about the basilisk. No, I was telling her about a young princess who came across a beautiful unicorn in a pool of water in the forest." He described briefly.

"One of those 'learn a life lesson and stop being such a git' ones." George told her with a smile as he took the bag of groceries from her and headed off to the kitchen to unload them in the cabinets.

Hermione looked long and hard at Harry for a moment before sighing heavily. "Could you at least _try_ something with some historical importance?" She begged agitatedly.

Harry looked at Elizabeth's horrified face as it pleaded with him to say 'no', then he looked back to his friend. "I could _try_." He nodded once to her. "How was the shopping?" Harry always mused that Hermione would have made a wonderful mother. She had all of the motherly instincts, even during school when she would worry for them constantly and bother them about how much they ate, or in some cases, didn't.

Hermione came farther into the room and played with Elizabeth's silky red hair –that always seemed to be softer on children, rather than adults- before answering Harry. Elizabeth didn't seem too pleased as she fumed about the changing of storytelling, but endured Hermione's touches.

"It was fine. I think she just went straight upstairs though. All that walking had her dead on her feet –what with the extra weight and all. Angelina was raving about Elizabeth the whole time and bragging about the new little one that's on the way." Hermione shrugged it off, but Harry saw the hurt in her eyes. After the complications of her first stillborn child, Hermione had been unable to have anymore. It had broken her heart.

She grumbled about it constantly, that Angelina had come out of her pregnancy in perfect shape, but she had come out of hers with stretch marks and weakened stomach muscles that caused extra fat to collect around her hips and stomach no matter how hard she tried to get rid of it. She still looked good to everyone else, with just a bit of extra-something that she liked to poke at and complain about.

"You look terrible." Hermione told him gently and her face frowned in a concerned way that showed off the beginning of worry-wrinkles.

"Thanks, I'm fine." He told her, slightly amused.

"But–"

"Where is Daniel?" Harry questioned with a gentle smile that was never too far from his features whenever he was around his friends.

She sighed in surrender, "Ron's taking care of him. Ellen (Ellen Moon. The book only says a last name in the first book, so I put a name to it and called her Ellen.) couldn't come along for this trip with us. She says that she still wants to come along for next weekend's trip to Diagon Alley though. We all need potions ingredients and she wants to pick up a few new cook books." Hermione stated quickly as she turned for the kitchen that was down the hall of her house. With all of the research work she did for the Ministry they at least paid her well enough.

Hermione and her younger friend Ellen ran a Bed and Breakfast as partners during the winter months, when people wanted to get away to someplace else for vacation, or Christmas time. It had been Ellen's husband's idea that they do something to occupy themselves when work was slow, so they had decided on the B&B. It had made everyone happy to see the light shine in Hermione's eyes when she had so many wonderful people from all over the country coming to Scotland and staying at her B she was able to associate with all types of people. What really made Harry happy, though, was that she was never alone. In the summer months, she had her friends, and in the winter time she had her customers.

As Hermione came back into view with a glass of water for her friend, Harry spoke, "So have they resolved their, eh…" Harry glanced at the child in his lap as she leaned onto his chest and began to doze. He didn't want to talk about her parents with her right there, but she never seemed to like to part with him whenever he was at Hermione's.

Hermione caught his meaning and nodded with a small smile as she set down the glass of water on the table beside Harry. "She fire-called to tell me that they were staying home to talk it through." The woman told him with a kind tone.

"That's good." Harry sighed in relief as George came into view at the entrance again.

"It's about the time for bed." George announced softly as he approached his daughter. He would have let Harry finish the story, but he knew his friend had to go, and his daughter was half asleep anyway.

"Five mo' minutes." Elizabeth whined tiredly as she was pulled away from the warmth of Harry's chest. The child seemed to wake up slightly in her daze and reach her hand out again for Harry, but she instead wrapped it around her father's neck, tucking her head in the crook of his shoulder, against his soft sweater.

With that weight off his aching legs, Harry stood and stretched like a cat, his back arching and causing a loud crack to fill the room. He reached for the glass of water and drank half of it down his parched throat before taking another breath. George came forward and kissed Harry's cheek briefly. "Goodnight." He whispered. "And thanks for watching her."

Harry nodded his acknowledgement before smiling and clearing his throat. He then headed off to the kitchen to put the cup in the sink –Hermione on his tail.

"Night, George!" She called to her friend as she tried to find where the man had put all of her groceries away and to place them in their proper places: where she would be able to find them again.

Harry chuckled as he watched her go at it.

"Night, Harry. Night, Hermione." George called. The stairs creaked as he took Elizabeth up to the room that she always got whenever the Weasley family stayed at Hermione's. Of course there weren't enough rooms for _all_ of the Weasley clan, but George, his wife Angelina, and their daughter Elizabeth always managed to pop over in between seasons at the B&B.

They could vaguely hear Angelina greeting her husband and kissing their daughter goodnight at the top of the stairs, but no more was heard as they went to put Elizabeth to sleep.

"Where are you off to?" Hermione asked as she pulled the peanuts out of one cabinet and put them into another two cupboards over.

"It's Saturday." Harry announced to her, as if that would explain everything.

"Oh, yeah." She nodded her head a few times, then checked the Muggle grandfather clock on the opposite wall. "You don't have much time." She told him in warning. He glanced at the clock as well and sighed.

"You're right." He washed out his cup quickly, then rushed to her Muggle telephone. He quickly dialed the number he knew by heart and waited for the answer. "Hi, Serena, it's Harry." The girl on the other side of the phone laughed and said a few things before they both laughed and said goodbye. "Gotta go!" Harry told Hermione as he came up on her side and kissed her cheek.

"Bye." She called to him as he rushed out the kitchen door. "Hey, wait!"

Harry appeared in the doorway again without a word and she smiled to him. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I have to visit The Manor again. Routine." He told her with a wry grin.

"Oh." She responded before turning back to finding her food again.

"Why?" He asked her quickly, not wanting to be late for the pizza he had just ordered, or subsequently late for his date with the Laundromat.

"I was just wondering if I'd have company." She told him, sounding a bit depressed. "George and Angelina are going back with Lizzy and the guests won't arrive until Wednesday." She told him.

He felt a pang of sadness for his friend that the Ministry had chosen now to send him on his errand to The Manor. For Hermione's work at the Ministry she didn't have to leave home. She could do her work and research at home, then take her results to work whenever she found any. It was the ideal job since she also ran most of the B&B herself. Ellen was, of course, with Ron most of the time, so how could she really contribute to the B&B, except in the mornings? Ellen would come in and help make breakfast for the guests, then help clean up and go off to her work in some Muggle library.

Harry decided he would try not to worry about it at the moment and he would send word to her from the Manor as soon as he got there.

He quickly went to the study room that was just next to the kitchen. As soon as his owl Hedwig saw him, she hooted happily at him from her perch in the corner.

"I have a job for you, girl." He told her affectionately. "It's another message to Malfoy." He laughed as her feathers bristled slightly. She hated the other owls at the Manor. They were all so nasty and greedy around her, making her feel rushed and unwelcome. Harry knew this and smiled wryly. "Sorry, but you know how Malfoy is."

He quickly scrawled the message and tied it to her leg before giving her a treat and opening the window for her to be able to leave through before shutting it right behind her.

It was bitingly cold outside. He would need a thick jacket tonight.

After a quick kiss to Hermione's cheek and a short search for his keys, he donned his Muggle leather jacket and opened the front door. As he shut the door, he looked out onto the cold street, then to his motorcycle.

He breathed in the harsh night air and sighed out a reverent smoky breath. He loved his motorcycle. It had been Sirius'.

It had shocked him when he found it locked away in the Ministry's many 'Confiscated Items' holding rooms. He had been perusing through one of them a while after he had become an official Auror, when he had come across the motorcycle. He had thought that Hagrid had gotten rid of it, but apparently it had been seized from him and brought to the Ministry. After a bit of 'calm discussions' between Harry and the Minster, which entailed a great deal of Harry's anger rolling off him in a magically threatening manner without one yelled word, (which Harry was proud of) he had finally won the motorcycle, and all rights to it and any other things that the Ministry had of Sirius'. Harry had thought that he would have had to pull the 'I killed Voldemort and asked nothing of you' card, but his domineering presence and cold mask of determination alone had been enough to make the Minister weak in the knees. The older man had caved easily.

Harry hadn't been too sure how to even board the motorcycle at first, but he had paid for lessons and gotten his license. It had only taken one ride on the motorcycle for him to come to love it. It was better than apparating to him.

For him to be able to move the motorcycle with his bodyweight and hands… it was just like flying. The fact that the motorcycle could also take to the air made it even better, but he still liked the use of gravity and how when you took a sharp turn you moved much the same way as when you did on a broom. It was just a tad more dangerous with the bike, in Harry's opinion, and that was probably what added to the enjoyment of it all; the danger.

He boarded his motorcycle, put the key in the ignition and let her warm up as he adjusted himself in the seat. He had his clothes in the two carriers on either side of the butt end of the bike. Enough for his visit to the Manor. Of course it was all dirty, so he had to get the Laundromat before he went to the Manor.

Pulling his helmet onto his head –mostly only because of the freezing night air- he zipped up his jacket as he planned out his route to the pizza restaurant in his head before revving his engine and taking off out of Hermione's driveway.

It was ten miles into town and another six to the pizza restaurant. He wove in and out of traffic as he finally made it to the town to the outskirts of the other side of town. The back-roads wound on for another minute before he finally arrived at a short slightly rundown building with old cedar shingles, and a few beer lights in the windows. Harry parked his bike and started inside without a worry for his vehicle in this dark part of town.

He entered the establishment and was immediately embraced by a short mousy-haired brunet –her breasts pressed to his stomach.

"I've missed you so much!" She squealed and clutched him tighter. "Where have you been! Another job for those nasty people you work for?" She demanded as her face turned red with rage when she stepped back. Her hands shot to her hips as she took his weary appearance in. His trips always brought him back weary. "You look like death warmed over." She commented with a scowl. "I don't like those people you be workin' for." She snapped angrily. There were snickers from behind her as the cook came up to Harry and shook his hand.

Customers around the establishment either yelled a greeting to Harry, or nodded to him as he came in further. Not many came to '_Dan's Grab n' Go Bar_'; the name was a bit of a deterrent to those who weren't regular customers, which meant that everyone knew everyone there. A nice friendly atmosphere despite the shady looking characters.

"I know you don't like them, Serena." Harry told her as he kissed her cheek. "Hey, Sam." He shook the balding cook's hand back and smiled at him. "Is the food ready? Jen's waiting." He urged.

Sam nodded a few times, then went to get the food.

Harry passed Serena two twenties and she gasped, biting her lip as he stared up at Harry guiltily.

"But Harry-!" She cried out.

He quieted her with a kiss to her forehead. "It's just for worrying for me. I don't know what I'd have done without friends like you guys this past year." He smiled lovingly at his friend. It was a ritual for him to dirty the few Muggle clothes he owned throughout the week –and of course, his robes got filthy from all the work he had done for the Ministry lately- so he would always do his laundry on Saturday nights, that would leave him Sunday to sleep in. He would call Serena, announce that it's him, and she would know that he needed two pizzas and two sodas by the time he arrived. He would pick the food up, then go to do his laundry with his friend Jen who happened to own the Laundromat.

Sam brought out the pizzas and drinks and thumped Harry on the back, as a manly gesture of tenderness and a goodbye all rolled into one.

"Bye, Harry." He went off back to the kitchen as Harry yelled a goodbye after him.

"Bye, babe." Serena said as she pulled Harry by his sleeve a bit lower so she could kiss his cheek.

"Bye, 'Rena." He whispered in her ear as he went to leave. She shivered as his breath caressed his cheek and she pulled on his sleeve again.

He leaned down to her height so that she could whisper into his ear, as he raised his brow in wonder.

"Anytime you just need to unwind, my bedroom door is always open, babe." She told him with a soft moan. He nodded with a polite smile as he pulled away from her and out the door. He wondered briefly if the pizzas would cool too quickly in this cold night air before he got to the Laundromat. Without a second thought, he used wandless magic to spell a warming charm on the food.

With practiced balance, Harry managed to drive back into town and to Jen's Laundromat.

After another ten minutes he was parking in the back parking-lot of the Laundromat, beside Jen's old P.O.S. of a car.

He knocked on the back door, and no sooner had his hand left the door than it was open and an arm yanked him inside with the food.

Harry's auror instincts told him to dodge, then attack with either a dagger from his boot, or a wandless spell, but his natural instincts told him to be calm; this surprise was not something to fear… well, maybe just a little.

"What took you so long!" A very agitated very pregnant woman snapped at him. "You look like shit." She told him after a look-over. Of course, she knew Harry was gorgeous, but bags decorated his eyes, his skin was paler than usual, and his hair was too flat for it to be healthy either.

"Well, hello to you too." He mumbled, slightly miffed at being knocked for his appearance more than twice in one day, by practically every woman he had seen.

"I already started my laundry a few minutes ago, but you can still catch up. I saved your washers for you." She told him with a pudgy smile. Harry had known Jen for half a year and she'd been pregnant since before he had known her.

He really hadn't had a need to go anywhere else for laundry when he had had his own flat, but Muggle washers were so much fun and the nice smell of fabric softeners beat magical cleansings any day.

After leaving the food with Jen, he went and gathered his separate bags of clothes and the sodas that he had stored with his clothes for the drive.

Quickly he returned back inside and dumped one bag of Muggle clothes in one washer, and the other bag of Wizarding robes more discretely in the other. He was a man after all. Who honestly wanted to take the time to separate their clothes by color and take up six washers, when all you needed was two and a few good shoves to get it all in there. He used Jen's fabric softener and detergent like he always did and he slipped a ten into her jacket when she wasn't looking to compensate her. He was sure she had figured out where the money came from, or she might have started to grumble about him always using her stuff. She said nothing about it though, and merely smiled at him as they sat on the table that was for folding laundry. They faced each other and started eating their pizzas.

"Bring chips next time." Jen suggested.

"What kind?" Harry questioned as he pulled out the deck of cards they kept hidden under the table for Saturdays.

"Barbecue something." She responded as she took another bite of her cheese, sausage, and pineapple pizza.

"Jeez." He grumbled the word that he had caught from all of his Muggle friends. "Your appetite is really weird." He told her with a frown.

"I know." She groaned. "I hated barbecue anything before, but now…" She sighed heavily as she shifted her pudgy weight around a bit. "What game do you want to play?"

"Rummy?" Jen suggested with a shrug.

Harry shuffled and dealt the proper cards to them both before glancing at his friend's engorged stomach.

"How long?" He asked her as he scanned his cards and moved them around in his hand before looking up at her, waiting for her to take her turn.

"Pardon?" She responded as her eyes met his. She snatched up the card next to the deck and laid down three kings before discarding and looking to Harry for a response.

He scowled at her newfound points, then looked back up to her.

"How long until your baby's due?" He questioned with a slight growl to his tone. Jen always won at this game, no matter what he did to contradict it. He could have all four aces and still lose to her. It was terrible.

"Less than two months." She whispered lovingly a she absently started to stroke her belly. His eyes softened on her as he watched her do this.

"You look wonderful." He told her honestly. She did. She had a lot of extra fat that would stick with her after the pregnancy and she probably hadn't been able to see her feet for months, but she looked gorgeous with her dirty-blonde hair, innocent blue eyes and swollen stomach.

"Liar." She snorted as she looked over her fat thighs and enormous hips.

"No." He responded in such an affectionate and longing tone that it made Jen stop dead in her tracks. She looked up into Harry's misty eyes and remembered how much he had talked about family… the family he had never had and everyone else had. If she hadn't been married she would have asked Harry to spend his life with her and be her baby's father. He was such a wonderful, caring, and handsome man with his tender gestures toward every living creature, and defensive attitude when anyone tried to disrupt or hurt his friends in any way. He was a _very_ possessive person when it came to his friends and the people he considered 'family'.

She smiled warmly at him and tears slipped out over her face.

_Damn hormones!_ She thought inwardly. It was horrible that she couldn't control her emotions, but who could really control the urge to cry when looked at by this heavenly angel that had nothing of what he really deserved in life.

"You really are beautiful." He whispered to her as he wiped away her tears with a napkin gently and kissed her forehead, causing the blonde to blush prettily. "Doesn't your husband tell you that?" He asked.

She shook her head a few times. "He does… but I don't believe him, and yet…" She sighed and laughed, "… yet I believe you, somehow. I know, just by that look in your eyes that you are being honest and… that makes me happy." She told him firmly.

Harry smiled at her. He swung both ways, but he had never really been attracted to Jen. She was pretty and all, but there was nothing between them. This baby though… he could honestly say it made her look very sexy. He could just imagine the wife that he might have had –that might have bore his children- looking like her. Beautiful. It made him deeply sad that he would never have a family like her. He suddenly wanted to be very far away from there, but… he couldn't leave.

He just picked a card and continued with game in silence –every now and then taking another bite from his pizza, or another drink of his soda. Within no time the washers were done and the clothes needed drying.

Harry changed over both of there's, since it didn't seem like Jen would be able to rise from the table and get back up successfully any time soon, so he put both of his and all five of hers into dryers, then started them with a special card that Jen used so she wouldn't have to put in quarters.

"I've missed you, Harry." Jen told him as she watched him work.

He hummed his acknowledgement as he continued working with the dryers so they wouldn't scorch his clothes.

"You've been gone for a long while now. I was surprised when you called me out of the blue Friday." She smiled at him, even though he couldn't see her.

"Sorry about that. Leaving, I mean."

"It couldn't be helped." She sighed heavily. "It's your damn asshole employer that's making you leave so often." She growled deeply, as if she wanted to wring the bastard's neck, whoever he was. "Still not going to tell me where you work?"

"Maybe after the baby's born." Harry joked –very amused by both her rapidly changing moods, and the fact that she wanted to kill his boss. "That way you won't endanger the baby in case my boss gets in a kick or two." Harry responded with a smirk.

She laughed loudly as he finished his work. "Sure." She giggled, her mood, yet again, changing.

"I'm going to be leaving in about three months." He told her casually, and it caused another loud groan to come from her.

"I _never_ see you anymore." She whined loudly, causing the only other person in the Laundromat that late at night to look at her with a quirked brow.

"It's the way it has to be." He sighed. "Besides, it keeps me going. I have no direction for my life right now, so this is basically all I have. I like the work mostly, so it's not that bad." Harry then stealthily hopped back up onto the table and dealt out a hand of Go-fish. "Besides, I'll be here long enough to see your little one's birth."

She smiled at that. Yes, she had asked, and Harry had promised to be there in the delivery room with her. She would ask her husband to do it, but he fainted whenever he was around blood of any kind. That wouldn't do. She needed someone to hold onto her hand just as tight as she could squeeze, and someone she could scream at about the pain. Yes. Harry had agreed, and she would be damned if she let him leave on some kind of trip without her having her child.

"You have the beeper, right?" She wondered suddenly.

Harry grimaced. She had offered the idea of cell phones, but Harry hadn't been too keen on the idea, so she had settled for beepers. "Yeah." He pulled the thing out of his pocket and looked at it incredulously.

"Keep that with you at all times. Remember your promise." She warned with a frown.

He nodded. He would be there.

It took six hands of lost games before Harry finally gave in and the dryers were done. Another ten minutes later and all of his clothes were folded and in the carriers on his bike. He walked back into the warm Laundromat and kissed Jen on the cheek.

"_Oh_!" Jen exclaimed as Harry turned to leave. He turned back quickly and saw the bright smile on her face. "It kicked!" She told him and eagerly grabbed his hand. "Feel." She pressed his hand to her swollen stomach and Harry gasped as he felt little feet kicking inside of her. He had to fight to keep the tears from coming. This was so wonderful. There was a little life-form inside of her that would come out soon.

Harry knelt down suddenly and Jen gasped at the sensation Harry kissing the little child inside of her stomach. As his lips met her stomach, she felt a spark of something. It was like the feeling of sliding on hardwood floors without meaning to, in just your bare socks –that chill through your body and spine… it was almost tangible. She wanted to reach for the spot where Harry's lips had touched her, but she didn't want the sensation to leave her so she let it be. Harry stood and she wished suddenly that she wasn't married, and that she could take this younger man home with her. She was only six years his senior, what did it matter? But no. Harry had to go off into the world. He wasn't the kind to sit still. He needed to find his true love and settle down somewhere. He needed to make his own family. It was something that she was very bent on seeing happen, even though it couldn't be with her.

"Thank you." Harry whispered to her as he squeezed her hand affectionately. "That was wonderful." He told her sincerely.

He turned after Jen could say nothing, and he left through the back again.

"Bye, Harry." She murmured as the door closed. "May God's blessings go with you, Angel." He had to be an angel. Many people had touched her stomach in interest before, but none –not even her husband- had sent such a warm feeling through her.

* * *

The wind was biting, and wretched. His lips were chapped, and his jeans didn't keep much of his own body warmth in. It couldn't be helped while he was on the main road though. He would have to endure the chill at least until he had reached the outskirts of town, so that the amount of people who would see him would be minimal.

Once finally outside of the town, he pulled over to the side of the back-road, steadied his bike and pulled out a thick robe and warm black cloak from his laundry pile. He quickly donned these things over his Muggle leather jacket and jeans, then tied down his helmet and switched gears on his bike so that he could fly. As soon as the gear was turned the bike began to float and immediately turned invisible along with its driver –a little extra feature that Harry had coerced Lee Jordan into doing for him. (The man was very talented with magical machines.) From there it only took a pull of the handles and a rev of the engine to get the bike racing up into the night sky like a broom.

* * *

It was over an hour fly through the open sky to get to his destination.

"Middle of nowhere." Harry groaned for the hundredth time as it started to rain lightly. A thought came to Harry's mind with a snort at the oddity of the thought, _No Man's Land._ He mused about that thought and its relevance to how he and his host at The Manor had been at a near warring stage for the younger years of their lives.

As he noticed the rarely used road below him that would lead to the Manor, he landed on it and changed the engine back to a Muggle one.

The rain was getting heavier as he sped off down the road until he finally came to the rusty gate of the Malfoy Manor. He sighed as he reached out for the gates with a free hand. It still looked as inhospitable as the last time he had been here.

Harry groaned as he looked over the vast expanses of land that belonged to the Malfoys as it started to rain more heavily. "Here we go again."

* * *

**Reviewers!**

**Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews! **

**Prongsblacks:** Thanks for the compliment. –blush- I hope you think the same of this chapter. I worry about it because it's from Harry's POV.

**DaftMeg:** -chuckle- No, I don't think Lucius would give up Eva. Sorry. Hell, I wouldn't give her up either if I had her. You liked the snake thing? I'm glad. It just randomly hit me whilst I was typing. Yes, Lucius is a bit delicate at the moment. He's putting himself back together. The next chapter will have so much information in it. It'll be fun to write!

**Strega:** Hehe. This is sorta for you because you made me so happy lately that the words kind of poured out. I hope you like. Yes, Harry wants kids. –sigh- He thinks he'll never get them… –wink wink- but we know the truth. I didn't really get a chance to mention Snape in the chapter. Harry doesn't really like Snape, so I couldn't very well answer your question of why Snape helped Lucius, but I'll tell you now. Lucius and Snape were close when they were in Slytherin together. They were both good conniving friends, and that's why Snape is Draco's godfather. Even if Snape had a fallout with Lucius in the way of friendship, Snape would still help Lucius because he wants Draco to be happy, and that's how you make Draco happy.

**Dark-faerie161:** Glad you liked the last chapter. I hope you will mention if there's anything that you'd like to know, or that you were curious about in this chapter. I'll never know what I did wrong if my wonderful reviewers, like you, don't tell me.

**Yana5:** Yah! Harry has arrived. The fun shall begin. –suspenseful music- You ask if Harry will become pregnant? Well, I'm not quite ready to divulge such information at this time. –wink wink- You'll find out later.

**Fragonknight01:** Thanks. I'm so encouraged by all of the reviews I get that it just makes me pour out the chapters. –smile- I'm probably neglecting my other stories at the moment, but this is just so much more fun to write.

**Immortal Memories:** Thanks. I like that you like the story. It makes me laugh when I read your reviews.

**Steph:** Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like the father/son part. I enjoyed writing it too.

**Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy:** No worries. This story will be finished. The ending is already plotted out in my head. I just have to get from point A to point B. That's all. –smile- Thanks for reviewing. It makes me keep writing.

**JoRaven:** Yes, more Harry. Plenty of Harry. I felt I was neglecting Harry so I dedicated the whole chapter to him. It's only been about two weeks. Hope that wasn't too long of a wait. I'm working on the next chappie already, so hopefully that will be out soon.

**Foolishwandwaver:** Me? Evil? Nasty? –tear- I've done it again too. –sob- I couldn't help myself! Maybe the next chapter will have a better ending. I haven't finished it yet, so I can't even imagine how bad that ending will be. Sorry.

**Acr:** Sorry to disappoint. I was thinking of a situation where Lucius would have to track Harry down, but it was original, yet cliché, and I don't think this has been done before, so… Hopefully you'll like the version just as much as if Lucius had gone after Harry.

**Shawnsgoddess:** You liked the talk they had? Good. I did too. Thank you for asking so many questions. Those are things that I will definitely get around to explaining, but I thought it would be too crammed to throw it into this chapter. You beg so prettily. I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I'm working on the next one already. Hopefully it won't take too long.

**HecateDeMort:** Thanks. Hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the last… maybe more. I've got all sorts of fun things planned for the next chappie. I hope you'll all like it. –paces nervously-

**LilyMalfoy13:** Thirteen? What a lucky number! –smiles- I love the name. Glad you like my story. Hope you liked this chapter too. Really excited about it.

**Death-by-inkpen:** It's okay that it took you a little while to review. I'm just happy that you did! What do you think of the story so far? Do you have any questions that need answering? I'd hate to leave you in the dark.

**Sweetpea-Fairy:** I'm thrilled that you like the story. I was worried. I'm a bit worried about this chapter and the next. Damn it! I'm worrying about the whole story past this point. –sigh- Hopefully, it'll turn out alright.

**Sabrith Alastar:** Glad you enjoy the story. I have some time off this week, so that's why this is coming out now. If you have any questions. Please ask away. I don't want to leave anything out.

**ConstanceNicholson:** I'm thrilled that you like my story. I didn't want this one to be like every other. I wanted to do the veela thing, but have it be different. I'm glad you think I have a good vibe to this story. You'll tell me if it gets too cliché of course. That's what I'm trying to avoid.

**Bitter Black Tears:** Your review made me smile. It's good that you like it so much. And if you have any questions, I hope you'll ask in your review. Wouldn't want to leave anything out.

**Bella Snape:** What a lovely name. Your review made me smile; thank you. Please, review again with any questions or comments on the chapter.

**Chocolatedemon:** Yes, a cliffie. I wanted them to end in the same spot, and this was about it. The dementor thing will be discussed in future chapters. Sometime eventually. –chuckle- Thanks for reviewing. Please, ask about anything else you're curious about too.

**KatFay:** Yes, bloody cliffhanger. Bloody weather. Haha. You hit the nail on the head with Draco. He has a mate. –twiddles thumbs- You'll find out about –cough cough- _that_ person, eventually. You'll find out about the dementors soon too. It's all to come. –smile-

**Ironic-humour:** Thanks for reviewing, even if you were being kicked off the net. I'm glad you took the time. I'm so happy about finally updating. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.

**Elvengoddess696:** Thanks for that review. I'm hoping that you enjoyed this chapter too. I'll try and keep up the good work. If you tell me what you want or what you don't, I'm sure that'll make it easier too. I only have _some_ of this planned in my head. I could always use an inspiration or muse!

**Bleckybecs: **I'm thrilled that you reviewed, even if you think you don't know what to say. A word or two is fine. I'm happy you did. I suppose it's kind of funny, but you reviewed yesterday and it just kind of gave me the urge to update. –smile- Hope you enjoy.

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! I loved hearing from all of you! It makes me get that itch to write whenever I get reviews. –smile- The next chapter should prove to be fun… or funny, depending on how you look at it. –chuckle- Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello. Yes, you were all quite mad last time. Sorry… I did it again.

**This goes back before Harry knocked just a bit, and takes it from Lucius' POV.**

Chapter 7

Lucius looked over to his son as he swore –slightly amused.

_A bit of rain was all it took to make him fall apart? _Lucius nearly laughed aloud. He was gone for a year and Draco's image as a Malfoy was just _now_ crumbling _right_ before him.

When Draco lost his head and shouted at the elf, Lucius couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer.

"Calm yourself." He said in warning. It wouldn't do for him to allow his son to lose himself over such a trivial thing. Malfoys should always be composed and elegant. Shouting at an elf about rain was not elegant, nor was stomping over to the front door shouting:

"NOW, WHO THE FUCK COULD _THAT_ BE?"

Lucius became a bit wary of whomever was at the door when he saw his son tense. Who could it be? Who would dare approach Malfoy Manor without first asking permission?

Though his upbringing told him to hold his head high and demand an explanation from the visitor, Lucius instead stealthily glided into the dark shadows the nighttime had caused in the Manor. He stood beside a large grandfather clock, beside the study, with a good vantage point of the door so he could see their intruder –were Draco to actually open the door enough- yet the person would not be able to see him because of the darkness.

After Lucius checked that he was completely hidden, he listened to the conversation that Draco was having with the person –his veela sense of hearing perfectly capable of listening clearly from his distance.

"…Nice hair." The man on the other side of the door commented, though his voice was muffled by the door. Lucius could not clearly distinguish the owner of the voice, but he knew who it was the moment his heart-rate increased by those words.

Draco didn't respond to the taunt about his hair. He merely stared agape at his visitor.

"Hey, Harry." He finally managed through his state of shock. Those words only confirmed Lucius' worst fears. How could his mate come now? He wasn't ready! …… Why was his mate even here? Why would he come to the Manor of all places? He obviously came to see Draco, but why? His son would have some explaining to do once he got rid of Harry.

The older blonde really didn't want to have his mate be so close, then leave though. He wanted to rush over to that door and yank it open so that he could drag Harry inside and have his wicked way with him. But no. That was not in any way a composed gesture. He was a civilized gentleman of society, not some caveman.

Besides that fact, he wasn't ready for his mate. He hadn't had nearly enough baths to bring the luster back to his hair, or the shine back to his dull eyes from malnutrition. The potion hadn't even taken full affect yet! In Merlin's name, what was his mate _doing_ here!

He decided that he would continue listening instead of worrying more wrinkles onto his face.

"…doing here?" Draco questioned the dark-haired man before him.

"I sent Hedwig to you with a note about coming, Malfoy." Harry responded with a groan. "You haven't even bothered to check your post, have you?" The man shook his head in amusement, then pushed the door open a bit wider and looked around the dark castle that didn't have nearly enough candles lit for the time of night it was. "Hedwig!" He called in a singsong voice. A moment later a loud hoot was heard as the slightly disheveled snowy owl came flying from the kitchen area, to where she perched onto Harry's shoulder and affectionately nipped at his ear. "Here." Harry took the letter from around her leg and handed it to the blonde.

Draco looked over the quick note before crumpling it and shoving it in his pocket. "Fine, you're here then." Draco ground out in a very grumpy way. He looked over the other wizard and noticed him shivering from the night air. His father would kill him if Potter caught a cold because of his rudeness. He opened the door wider and gestured for the other man to come in. "How'd you get here?" He asked, partially so there would be conversation, and partially to distract the dark-haired man from wherever his father was now hiding.

"Same as always. You know I hate to apparate." Harry responded with a shrug.

"Won't your precious bike get wet?" Draco asked, still trying to distract the other man.

"I have charms on it to keep it dry and rust-free." Harry responded as he looked up to Draco's hair once more. "Speaking of drying charms…" Harry mused as he left the thought hanging.

Draco growled at the other man and knew that even through his father's worry and self-consciousness at the moment, that he was probably smirking too.

"Do you have something to say?" Draco snapped.

"I could say a lot of things, but I think you'd hex me for it." Harry responded with a gentle smile.

"You want to do something about it?" The blonde spat back with an underlying plead in his tone for the other wizard to help him.

Harry smiled at Draco again coyly. "What are you trying to say, Malfoy?" He asked, forcing Draco to admit inferiority, or deal with the hair problem until he could get to his hair products.

The blonde growled yet again as his glare came into full play. He tried to remember how his father scolded him for losing composure before, but Potter always seemed to get the best of him in times like these. He forced a blank expression across his face and glared at Harry.

"_Please_ fix my hair, you pain in the ass?" He asked, not so gently. They both knew that Harry was better with –and had a more extensive knowledge of- charms than Draco.

The green-eyed boy could have showed more of his Slytherin side and asked Draco 'why in the name of Merlin Draco thought that he would be able to fix his hair', but he decided to show pity and merely swished his hand in the direction of Draco's head as the frizzy mop of blonde became a golden drape of soft tresses that fell over Malfoy's face freely because of the lack of gel.

Draco merely sighed in relief as he threaded his fingers through his hair to make sure it was normal again. He nodded shortly to the other man by way of showing thanks, then turned to walk away.

"Would you happen to have a spare piece of parchment I could use to write a note to Hermione?" Harry asked as he walked after Draco.

"Of course." The blonde responded coolly, with much more confidence now that he knew his appearance was flawless.

As they walked, Harry sneered when a smell floated to his nose. "Dear Merlin, Draco. Did you learn nothing about drying charms from Professor Flitwick?"

"What!" Draco demanded sharply with a scowl as he spun back around to face the other wizard. "What are you blathering about now, Potter?"

"The bloody smell!" Harry responded as he covered his sensitive nose. "You stink."

"Fix it, or deal with it, Potter." Draco deadpanned with a very irritated glare. "Charms wasn't exactly my most favored subject."

"Perhaps I should spend my whole visit teaching you charms then?" Harry mused, though he still covered his nose.

"In your dreams, Potter!" Draco snapped.

Harry reached out his hand, and touched Draco's robes for a moment. As soon as they had contact, Draco felt the other man's magic run over his skin like a shiver. As he pulled back, Draco noticed the smell was gone completely. There was no smell of lilacs or anything, but at least the odor was gone.

He nodded his head in thanks once more before turning back around.

Draco led Harry to one of the studies on the ground floor and opened the door for him before gesturing Harry in first and taking a quick survey of the surrounding area for his father before going inside the room and shutting the door behind him.

The Manor was so large that all doors were kept shut to keep whatever warm air inside the rooms, so it was by force of habit that Draco did it on this dreary cold night.

Hedwig fluttered onto the tabletop from her master's shoulder and watched him as he sat gracefully into the cushioned high-back chair.

"Malfoy, could you ask a house-elf for some food and water for Hedwig before she leaves?" Harry asked as he took the awaiting quill from the desk and pulled a piece of parchment from a pile in a side drawer, before beginning to write a message to his friend saying that he had made it to the Manor fine.

Draco calmly snapped his fingers and muttered the name of an elf before a pop filled the soundless room and Draco made the order. The elf was gone and back within a minute, putting the food and water bowls in front of Hedwig as she perched on the desk waiting for Harry to finish.

The blonde was more nervous than he'd ever been in his entire life, but he hid it well. His father had just barely been home a day and he already had to deal with a catastrophe. The older blonde was most likely thinking up every escape route and option to get out of the Manor, if he wasn't already outside, to try and keep his mate from finding him in what the older Malfoy considered a deplorable state.

Hedwig ate her food and drank some water, and once she was finished she began to preen her feathers. Harry smiled at her lovingly.

"Are you too tired for the journey back?" He asked her and immediately saw her sit up straight so that her height was full and stretch her leg out for Harry to tie the message to. After a quick wave over the letter to make it waterproof he gently tied it around the owl's leg, then took her gently to the window and opened it for her. With a soft kiss to her head, Hedwig was off into the cool night's air.

Once the window was shut, Harry turned back to Malfoy, who seemed slightly distracted.

"Okay, so you weren't expecting me." Harry announced with a sigh. "You've never acted so indifferent to me when I've arrive before. At least not since the first visit." He added with a short glance around the room. After nothing caught his eye, he looked back to Malfoy.

The younger Malfoy looked up to Harry and sighed heavily. "It's just that–" He began, but Harry raised a hand to silence him as he stepped closer. As the dark-haired man leaned closer to Draco with such a serious look in his eyes, Draco worried that Harry was about to kiss him for some strange reason.

Harry's hand grabbed Draco's collar without warning and yanked the taller man down closer to his height. "Say a word and I'll kill you." He whispered without the slightest hope remaining that he was joking around. Draco tensed immediately, his eyes widening with something akin to fear toward the powerful wizard that stood before him. He felt as if he had let down his defenses and now Harry was going to finish him off on some kind of Ministry business for something he didn't do.

However, Harry walked past Draco –to his surprise. He took a leisurely round over the room, inspecting the objects halfheartedly. He came to the wall with the door and quite suddenly his hand shot out toward the small alcove in the corner where a tall bookshelf lay hidden in shadows by the lack of candlelight in the room.

When Harry's hand emerged, it came fisted in Lucius Malfoy's robes before the older wizard was roughly shoved and pinned against the door. A distinct crack was heard, resounding in the frightfully silent room.

Both veelas were shocked beyond belief. Draco was shocked because he hadn't known his father was hiding in that room, or he would have taken Harry somewhere else. Lucius was shocked –and painfully aroused, though his robes hid it well- that his mate had found him without any difficulty and was now mere inches away from himself.

"Ah! Lucius Malfoy." Harry drawled with a sigh as he released the breathless older man. He had obviously given the blonde a fright and he felt slightly guilty for it after seeing how weary and drawn he looked. "That's right. I recall hearing you were just released… today, was it?" He paused. "I should have known." He glanced back at Draco with another sigh. "You didn't think I knew he was here?" Harry asked in a condescending tone with a smirk firmly in place. "This is why you were so uptight?" He chuckled. "I don't know why you were hiding, Malfoy, but hiding only makes me more suspicious of you, not any less." He told the older blonde whom was now de-ruffling his clothing as he looked straight into the slightly shorter man's green eyes.

He made sure his face was a perfect mask of calmness before he nodded to the dark-haired man in greeting. "Good evening to you too, Mr. Potter."

"And a good evening to you as well, Mr. Malfoy." Harry replied coolly. "Well, Malfoy… eh…" Harry turned to look at Draco, but knew that he had both men's attention because of the title he had used. "Alright, uh, how about I call you Draco instead?" He asked the younger blonde.

"Why don't we all simply use each other's first names, to keep this easy?" He suggested with a shrug. "Or is that too difficult for you, Potter?"

Lucius looked thankfully to his son over his mate's head. It would have been awkward for Lucius to tell Harry he could call him by his first name.

Harry swiveled back to face Lucius –ignoring Draco's snarky reply- as he raised a questioning brow at the suggestion. "That would be fine with me, as long as… Lucius doesn't mind?"

The way the name rolled off Harry's tongue caused the older veela's skin to tingle.

"Yes." Lucius murmured, trying to regain his strong voice, but becoming unsuccessful when he was this close to his sexy mate. "That would be fine." He noticed how a pause continued until a rather loud grumbling was heard.

Both blondes looked expectantly at Harry as he flushed a deep scarlet.

"A little dinner wouldn't go unappreciated." Harry informed the younger blonde to his right. As Draco nodded with a smirk to the still flushing Gryffindor, they all filed out of the room, seeming to ignore Lucius' short-lived spying carrier in the study for now.

Lucius loved the look of Harry blushing. It caused another part of him to become heated as he looked on with suppressed lust. As they all walked out of the study to eat in the Dining Room, Lucius was last out of the room, giving him a fair view of Harry's ass as he pulled off his cloak and robe.

A house-elf immediately appeared to take his things and hang them up, and Harry thanked the small creature kindly.

Once the robe was off though, Lucius nearly couldn't bring himself to breathe. Harry wore a slightly loose pair of Muggle jeans, that tempted Lucius terribly as to the body underneath them, and a leather jacket that just barely covered that ass, with black boots that added another two inches to his height and gave an elegant beauty to his rough shell.

"Is you not wanting the jacket also?" The elf asked with a hand raised to take it from Harry if he wished.

Harry thought about it for a moment, then unzipped the jacket and handed that to the elf as well.

"That'll be all." Harry told him with a smile, and the elf was gone.

When Harry looked up, both blondes were staring at him curiously. "What?" He responded defensively. "Never seen Muggle clothing before?"

"I've never seen you in anything that actually _fit_ before." Draco responded with an appreciative smirk. "It's shocking."

Lucius would have growled a warning to his son about his comment, if he hadn't been so rapt up in how gorgeous the dark-haired wizard looked in the dark red T-shirt that tucked into his jeans, annunciating his slim waist and well-framed shoulders.

_Perhaps red isn't such an insufferable color._ Lucius mused to himself as he looked the Gryffindor over again.

Harry chuckled at that statement. "Yes, I was always wearing robes here before, wasn't I?" He mused as he thought back to previous visits. "Well, I had to buy proper Muggle clothing for some of my missions, and I liked the stuff I bought, so I kept it." He shrugged as they continued to walk into the Dining Room.

The table was set for three and a large feast was laid out for the men to pick at.

"What? No ten course meal?" Harry teased the younger blonde.

The blonde scowled him. "Not after all the bloody complaining you did last time." Draco countered.

Lucius felt a swift bout of jealousy that his mate had been spending so much time with his son without his knowledge; he made a quick mental note to say something to Draco about it later.

As they sat down with Lucius at the head of the smaller table and both boys on either side of him, the older man began to get quite curious of some things.

"So, Harry," Lucius purred, allowing the name to slip from his tongue in a sinful way, "why _are_ you here?" It couldn't hurt to try and flirt a little.

Harry looked at him, with his head slightly quirked at the unfamiliar tone of voice before he disregarded it and began to pile food onto his plate. It had been almost two hours since he'd munched on the pizza, and he hadn't properly been hungry enough at the time, but he sure was now.

"I would have thought that Draco would have told you." Harry responded as he cut a piece of steak into smaller portions than he normally would so that Draco wouldn't get on him about his table manners again.

When Harry got no response from the older man, he glanced back and forth between the blondes who were having a conversation with their eyes. Apparently, Lucius was a bit ticked about not being told of Harry's visits. Harry decided to save Draco from a visual whipping both now, and probably later.

"Well, yeah, I was asked a while back… more like _told_," he correct himself, "to come here and inspect the Manor for any dark items that Draco may be harboring. The Ministry is under the impression that he was faithful to the Dark Lord, whether or not he had the mark. They have been under this mentality since you were put away." Harry explained, gesturing a bit rudely with his knife. The way he put it made Lucius feel like he had merely been put up on a shelf for the past year, like some type of toy.

Draco glowered at Harry, making sure to catch the knife-offender's attention with his eyes. The slightly shorter man paused at the look he was being given before realizing what he had done and frowning. Apparently Draco wanted him to act properly in front of his father, so it wouldn't seem as if Draco hadn't forced at least _some_ manners onto him.

The thing was, that Harry had manners. He especially had to use those manners around the little ones at Hermione's place, or whenever he visited George or Ron, but he didn't like to use them. He therefore made a habit of only using manners around small children, though it was starting to wear on him badly. He had tried to always relax whenever he came to the Manor because he couldn't really relax around anyone else. Draco always was on him about something that he did wrong, so it was really pointless to try and hide his faults around the younger blonde. It gave him a sense of comfort that he didn't always have to be perfect, but now that Draco was stressing his manners again, he was beginning to feel a bit uptight.

Harry gestured for Draco to continue with a frown across his face as he pointedly used his knife to make the gesture.

Draco scowled further at the blatant disregard for his silent request. "During the first little visit from Mr. Potter, we sorted everything out." He paused as Harry and he shared a look. "He knew I wasn't a Death Eater, and he was willing to just spend our visits in a silent truce instead of actually having to search the place. There just couldn't be anything in plain sight. I learned that Potter wasn't a complete jackass and we got along rather well. It became a bit of a routine." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Language, Malfoy." Harry reprimanded with a smirk. Draco scowled back at him.

"I do believe I'm confused as to whom you're speaking to, _Harry_." The blonde annunciated.

Before any kind of argument could break out, Harry decided to be the bigger man and let it go. He nodded in recognition of what Draco had told Lucius of their earlier visits.

"Yes, well, I never know about the visits until a day before, and Draco's never supposed to know about the visits at all, but after our new acquaintance of each other, I started to send him a bit of a warning by way of Hedwig, my owl, whenever I came."

Draco nodded his acknowledgement to that. "I merely forgot to check for any post. I told the house-elves not to disturb me at all, so I was not warned enough to be able to warn you either, Father."

Lucius nodded to his son, though he harbored a frown as he went through his thoughts for other questions he would ask Harry now, and ask Draco later.

As Harry was about to take a bite of a piece of steak, he replaced it onto the plate and reached down under the table, looking as if he were scratching an itch on his lower leg.

Draco's eyes widened in horror as he assumed that Harry was scratching himself at the dinner table. He shot a glance to his father who looked just as horrified, but when Harry sat back up, he had a long thin box in hand. He twirled the box between his fingers a few times as he sized up Lucius with a predatory, yet casual stare, then he tossed the box into the other man's lap.

Lucius looked to Harry with a confused scowl across his face. Harry merely picked his fork back up and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

The veelas realized that the other man wouldn't explain his actions, so they both leaned over to look at the simple black box. It felt warm to Lucius and as he discretely sniffed the box he found Harry's smell all over it. It must have been pressed to his skin for quite some time to have his smelled inlaid in the very fibers of the box. Gods! It was such an intoxicating smell that Lucius forgot about what might be inside the box for a moment as he engrained that scent into his brain for later daydreaming pleasures. It wasn't until Draco nudged his foot politely that he remembered to open the box.

As he touched the box, he could feel Harry's magic woven around the box as well. It must have some kind of spell on it, but none that harmed Lucius when he touched the box, so he assumed it was alright to open.

When he did, he felt a surge of familiar magic return to him. He lifted the thing that had been wrapped in a white cloth and he began to unravel it as Harry started to speak:

"I found it. Didn't really have much time to pack it or anything. Just put a concealing charm around the box to keep the Ministry from detecting it on my person as I left work today." Harry explained casually. "I remember Draco and I speaking the last time I was here about what happened to your wand and I told him the Ministry would probably never give it back to you. He asked me if I could find it for you, or if it had already been destroyed." Harry took another bite of meat, then took a long drink of the sour wine that Draco liked so much at meals.

Lucius finally reached what was under the cloth. His wand. Harry had searched for his wand for him, then stolen it from the Ministry and brought it back to him.

Lucius realized he hadn't much thought of his wand after being released. All he could think about was his mate and his son, but now that he had his wand back in his hands again, it was a welcome warmth that spread through his arm and filled him, causing a familiar tingle of magic to reimburse him. It was slightly ironic that he had given Harry his wand in surrender more than a year ago, and now Harry was giving him back his wand and if the man accepted his proposal, Harry would be giving him a new life as well.

"Why would you bring this to me?" He asked, in awe at his mate for the act of kindness that had been so undeserved for the criminal.

Harry's fierce green eyes locked onto Lucius' seriously. "Draco spoke very highly of you in our conversations." He told the older man. "You have proven yourself in the past, and by what Draco tells me, you weren't all that much of an ass when we were younger either." The language was used without malice and seemed to tease, more than offend Lucius; just how Harry had intended. "Apparently, you wore some kind of façade, so I'm willing to go beyond what I thought I knew of you before and start over." The dark-haired wizard told him with conviction.

Lucius' heart lifted as if the weight he had been carrying for ages was finally gone. His mate wanted to start anew. They could be friends first… then… But, he wasn't being honest. If they were going to start from the beginning, then Harry should know everything there is to know about him. Draco seemed to be worrying along the same lines, and he shared a quick glance with Lucius before the older man came to a decision that Draco was wary about.

"I would like that very much." He responded with a deep level of emotion in his voice that he was sure the other man would pick up on.

Before Lucius could speak further, Draco interrupted, as if to stall for time because he knew what Harry's reaction would be, or perhaps because he feared what it would be; feared, not for himself, but for his veela father who would not get any more chances at love other than Harry.

"Why didn't the Ministry officials give your wand back to you when you were released?" Draco asked his father.

"Because," Harry answered instead, turning to Draco, "they don't want the prisoners to hex or kill them in a fit of rage. It's really just so they can feel safer whilst releasing the prisoner in question. Weak inept bastards." He cursed nonchalantly.

Lucius felt a swell of love for Harry and a swell of hate for the Ministry that his mate worked for.

"It's not like a prisoner could muster enough magic to cast any kind of powerful curse after just leaving the Dementors' hold anyway." Harry commented snidely as he sat back comfortably with his wine in hand. "They weren't planning on even giving you your wand though because some of them thought you had gotten off far too lightly in your sentence, and they were worried that you would seek some kind of revenge. By taking away your powerful wand, they were seeking to weaken you as much as possible. Of course you could get another, but it wouldn't be as powerful as your original."

Lucius nodded and smiled a small smile at his mate. He wanted this to be right. He just kept feeling more and more love for his Harry, and he wanted that love to be returned. That could only happen with honesty.

"Harry." Lucius called gently to the younger man. As Harry looked up at him wearily, Lucius could see the strain the last year had put on him. There did seem to be some more prominent laugh lines around his mouth and eyes, but he could also see where the man had frowned and scowled so many times. He appeared so worry-worn and altogether tired. Suddenly, Lucius didn't know if he could pile more worry onto that sad face, but… would it be worry? Wouldn't it be more akin to relief at having found your destined? Judging by Draco's worried face, it seemed he would only be worrying Harry further, but… it had to be done. It couldn't be avoided.

He frowned slightly in worry, but remained completely calm on the outside as Harry waited for him to continue.

"I have something to ask you."

* * *

A/N: Okay, yeah, I am the queen of all bitches. –smiles- But you love me enough to review, right?

**Two questions:**

**_If_ I give Harry an animagus form, what should it be?**

**DO YOU KNOW OF ANY GOOD Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings CROSSOVERS!**

**Ah, my lovely reviewers! –smooch- You guys rock!**

**Immortal Memories:** I'm sorry I disappointed you last chapter. Don't pull out all of your hair over this chapter either. I wouldn't want you to have a bald spot or something. I wish I could say the next chapter won't be the same cliffie, but I haven't planned it out, so I'm not sure.

**ConstanceNicholson:** Oh, please don't worry about me! I think I'm just going to do these chapters in two week intervals. It seems to be an okay pace for me, and it gives me time to mull over whether I like the chapter or not before posting. I won't _declare_ that that's how I'll do it, because it might not happen exactly the same way every time, but I'll try for that. –wink wink- I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I was just doing laundry and it kind of came to me, that it would be such a hoot if Harry did his own laundry instead of having someone else do it.

**Xikum:** I didn't even think of that –that Jen's baby could be magical because of that. I mean, I thought of making it magical, then giving it to harry or something because Jen died in birth, but... that didn't sit right to me. It felt cliché almost. I don't know what I'll do with her _for sure_. I just know she's there for friendship and laundry so far. –smile- Yes, Jen isn't close to her husband. Not all people that get married, love their spouses completely after a couple of years, and that's what I was trying to show with Jen. She enjoyed her friend's company more than her husband's, but she still loves her husband and will stay by him with their child. Eh, no, Harry has no veela in him. He's just magnetic with his loving personality, hot looks, and sad life. People are drawn to him, and they naturally want to make him happy because he brightens their lives. Ah! Yes, you are quite perceptive in that I will be drawing _some_ of there characters that I'm describing together, but not many. I'm not telling who either. –snicker-

**HecateDeMort: **-smile- You're the second person to ask if Jen's child will be Muggleborn or not. I haven't decided, but I'm leaning one way, and I won't tell you because that might give away the fun! Jen is Muggle though. Thanks for your comment, I hope I can answer any other questions you may have.

**Volume:** Glad you like it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away. I'll answer what I can.

**Yana5:** Happy you liked it. I've been seeing your name everywhere I look lately. –smile- It's kind of funny. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like.

**A-Brighter-Dawn:** Your reviews always make my day. It's so wonderful. I wish you'd update too. –pout- I wouldn't mind reading another chapter from your stories, either. Anyway, thanks for the compliments. –blush- Now I know why you didn't update for so long though. I didn't know you had gone away for a while. It must have been a long vacation or something. Hope you had fun. Also hoping you liked the chapters you read!

**Leeanna-Marie-Malfoy:** Sorry I left you off like that. I just didn't want to neglect Harry's version of the story either… and I want to introduce Hermione and the Weasleys so no one thinks I'm ignoring them. You have questions? Please, don't hesitate to ask! I wouldn't want to leave anyone in the dark if I can answer anything.

**Bitter Black Tears:** Your review always seems to make me laugh as well. You just seem to have a magnetic personality. You are right about all of those pairings. I'm going to go more deeply into _why_ Hermione's not with anyone right now. That's why the last chapter kind of touched on so many people. It all goes along with my hairy plot. Ha! No one seems to remember the pizza shop lady's name. –snort- -laugh- To tell you the truth, I can't remember her name at the moment, either. Yes, she did seem to be a bit of a slut, hmm? But she is a good friend, and it's more of just a 'you're my friend, and you're hot, so I wouldn't mind having you shag me, but I'm content to be your friend' thing. I hope you liked the interaction between Harry and Draco at the beginning. I had so much fun writing this chapter out. The end got a bit difficult, so I decided to just stop there and give my brain a rest until two weeks from now. –chuckle- _Really_ hoping you liked it!

**Hermione21:** HA! You are so intuitive! Yes, I am planning something along the lines of Jen calling Harry to the hospital at a _very_ bad time. I think I've just created a scene in my head, actually. I think I'll go write that done somewhere! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't think twice about asking any other questions you may have!

**Dark-Faerie161:** Happy you liked that I explained things from Harry's POV. Everyone else got mad at me for it. –pout- Did you like this chapter? I liked the interactions between Draco and Harry. It was so much fun to write. The end was hard, but I'll do something about that later. Time to go lay out in the sun! Please review!

**DaftMeg:** I am not evil! I know you were all expecting the meeting between Lucius and Harry. If you were expecting it, why should I do it? That would just be too easy! The author is supposed to surprise you, not make everything easily readable and cliché! I'm glad you liked the bit about Harry though. Some of those character _might_ come into play later. –cough cough- Hint, hint! –cough cough- Hermione and Lucius friends? Yeah… something like that will happen… maybe. –snicker- I love knowing everything! Ha! Sorry. I'll shut up now.

**The True Silver:** Update soon? I'll update in about two weeks. Gives me enough time to write it and mull it over before adding a bit more humor and jazz to the chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. I try…

**Dmweasley:** You can't wait for them to get together, hmm? You and everyone else… including me! _I'm_ not even sure how things will happen yet! Isn't that sad? If You have any question, go ahead and ask –I won't bite… hard.

**Darkangel507:** I remember you! Ha! How could you say such a thing! You're so perceptive. You're the only one to ask who Draco's mate is. I'm not going to _tell_ you, of course, but I'm just glad that you're thinking! Sorry I confused you at the beginning of the last chapter. I realize now that that's confusing, but I made a little note at the top of this one to eschew obfuscation. –snicker- I'm sorry, but I can't spread my genius over so many stories. Everything that isn't prewritten, such as High School –but this story as well- is going on hiatus. I just can't keep up with all of them. –pout- Sorry. I mean, I have like two other stories that I have written down on my computer for Harry Potter, that I don't want to put up because I don't want to neglect this one. It will just have to go one at a time, or not at all. Sorry!

**Katfay:** Ha! You make me laugh! Sorry, I didn't mean to piss you off with the last chapter, but I needed to throw some Harry into this, or it would just be neglecting all of the other fabulous character of Harry Potter. You know? Okay, okay, I get the picture. More about the Malfoys! I promise! The characters might have to blend after a while though, so you're going to have to have _some_ chapters that aren't entirely about the Malfoys, though none as separate as the last one was. Cross my heart.

**Jen:** A new chapter? I hope this was sufficient. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I won't bite. Promise.

**Lothirielwen:** Your name was so hard to spell! I hope I got it right! I can't say that this is going to end any time soon, but… I don't know. I was kind of hoping this would be my longest one yet. We'll see, I suppose.

**Amekan:** Hope I spelt that right. "Wow!" right back at ya! –chuckle- Thanks for the review. I can't divulge at this time whether Harry will be the one to be preggers or not. It would just ruin the fun of the surprise for me… and you all. Don't worry about Draco. He _will_ find his mate in this story, but I can't reveal who that is yet. I'm sure it's _possible_ to have to soul-mates for one person, but it's highly unlikely. I'm not quite sure what to do with Blaise yet, but I've already got someone else lined up for Draco.

**Cricketpoor:** There _will_ be more of this one. I'm glad you like the pairing. It's not my all-time fav., but it's up there. I think I'm going to go through a series of writing all my favorite pairing in different stories. It will start with another that I've already begun with, after I finish this one. Hopefully my reviewers will follow me with my stories.

**SweetHoney863:** That it. That's how I ended the last chapter, and I'm sorry for the cliffie… again. This was a pretty good update, hmm? Only three days after you reviewed. I apologized ahead of time for the cliffie, but it couldn't be helped. That's just where I stopped. Sorry. Ask any questions you like, and I'll try to appease my wrong-doing.

* * *

A/N: Yet another chapter! A few questions please, if anyone can help me!

**Two questions:**

**_1. If_ I give Harry an animagus form, what should it be?**

**2. DO YOU KNOW OF ANY GOOD Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings CROSSOVERS!**


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I thought this would end up being shorter than all the rest by a lot, but really it's only like a page less, **and** I didn't leave off on a cliffhanger! **Go me!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 8

Lucius' POV:

Lucius growled as he slowly began to awaken from his potion-induced sleep.

Last night had not gone anywhere near as well as he had hoped. The entire _day_ had been the worst he could remember. First his mate showing up out of nowhere, finding him when he'd tried to hide, _then_ there was that conversation at dinner as well.

_Merlin!_

How had he screwed that up so terribly?

* * *

"_Do you remember what I said to you that day, during the final battle more than a year ago?" The veela asked._

_Harry's eyes misted over as he seemed to replay the day in his mind. A frown of sadness overtook his face until he seemed to come to the part where he met up with Lucius. As the conversation played back bits and pieces of what he remembered at seventeen, his gaze softened, until he finally returned to the present to look back into Lucius' eyes. _

"_Yes. Vaguely." He responded with a small nod._

"_Do you remember what you asked me?"_

"_I remember asking what I could possibly do for you." Was the reply._

"_Do you remember my answer?"_

_Harry's eyes misted over again, and he glanced at Draco, as if embarrassed, yet he didn't blush this time. "You asked me to stay with you." He replied._

"_Yes." Lucius nodded with a small sigh of relief, but things weren't over with yet. "Harry, I am a veela. Do you know what veela are?" He didn't want to seem as if he were patronizing the man, but he had to ask.

* * *

_

He had gone on to explain exactly what it was to be a veela, about the entrapping beauty, the people that flocked to them like moths to a flame, and, of course… the mates.

His reaction had not been one Lucius had planned for in the least. Harry had stared cautiously at him as he explained that he and Draco were such creatures –knowing that there must be some odd reason for Lucius to explain this to him. When he had finally gotten around to the explanation of mates, and had told Harry the purpose of his explanation, the dark-haired man had merely stared blankly at him.

Lucius had fought to keep himself from looking expectant, or worried, or anything other than dignified and indifferent, but it had still hurt. His mate's silence had ground at him like a wolf to still-bleeding prey.

How could his mate merely stare forward like that after Lucius had opened himself by revealing such a thing? It was truly a weakness now. Harry held a great deal of power over the blonde in that sense. He would be nothing without his mate, and he was sure that the eternal emptiness would drive him to insanity, if not suicide, though he wasn't sure his Malfoy pride would allow him to do such a disgraceful act.

Eventually Harry had stood slowly from his seat and turned, leaving the room. Neither Draco nor Lucius had had the courage to go after him. Both decided that it was better to let him sort out himself before they spoke again.

Lucius hadn't slept at all during the night. He had been so exhausted that he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He had been running on his nineteenth hour of wakefulness before he'd finally taken a potion to give him rest. He sighed grumpily. Even the Dreamless-Sleep Potion –that was a very potent concoction from the Manor's supply- had not been able to keep the troubled veela asleep for more than four hours.

Finally giving in to his inability to rest any longer, Lucius rose and went to start a bath for his tired body. When he came back from starting the bath, he noticed the nutrients potion on his bedside table that he had forgotten to take at dinner the night before. It had been a much too traumatic night for him to even _consider_ digesting anything more.

He downed the drink in one long swig, then began shedding his clothes –which hadn't been removed after dinner the night before, before bed- as he stalked back to the bathroom.

As he approached his full-length mirror completely nude, he admired the effects of the last nutrients potion on his body. By then, it had taken complete effect and he was merely waiting for this second one which would be done by the next morning.

His skin held a healthier glow, and aside from the bit-too-visible ribs and slight shadows under his eyes, the blonde could find no flaw with himself. His new eating habits were beginning to show progress, but certainly all this better food he'd been digesting had also helped. He looked at his nails and noticed the color was fine, but they looked horrid. He needed them fixed, and his somewhat dry hands and knees could do with a bit of ointment to relieve him of the dry-look.

There was certainly plenty to do today.

* * *

Harry's POV:

"Good morning, Master Harry." A few house-elves greeted as Harry walked in to the kitchen.

Harry nodded his head to them in greeting because he didn't know many of their names yet.

"Morning." He greeted, then made his way through the bustling elves as they helped prepare food, or clean things –most of them rushing through the kitchen to get to the laundry room in the far corner to clean this or that.

With a calm slight arrogance that the dark-haired man had picked up from his Malfoy –perhaps you could even call him a- friend, Harry walked up to the only human servant in the entire Manor.

"Good morning, Master Harry!" The man called cheerfully to the taller brunet. The man was far too perky for this time of morning, in Harry's opinion.

"Morning, and stop calling me 'Master' anything. I'm not your master and I never will be." He snapped irritably.

"You don't have to be sore about it!" The man defended, though he really hadn't taken much offense to Harry's attitude at this time of day. "Bad night?" The graying man questioned as he flipped a perfect egg over to cook the other side.

"The food was good." Harry commented, knowing he would never want to insult the man that prepared his food. That was a definite 'no no' no matter where you went. "The company was terrible."

"I can't do anything about the company you keep." The cook responded with a smile. "I _can_, however, prepare the best oatmeal you'll ever taste though." He offered with a raised brow.

Harry smirked, perking up for the first time since he'd been up at five that morning worrying about this new situation. "That's sounds perfect."

"It's been over on the stove, waiting for you for about three minutes. You're early today."

"I know." Was the response as Harry made his way over to the pot of his favorite oatmeal with a warming spell over it. "Thanks, Alan." He called out as he started scooping oatmeal into a bowl.

Alan was a middle-aged, low-classed, pureblooded wizard who cooked for the Malfoys because Lucius had thought the Manor's food was marvelous until Draco had told him that the food at Hogwarts was better. Since then, Lucius had hired Alan and the man had been employed ever since then. He was the most fantastic cook ever, and was especially well taken care of for his skills in the kitchen. No house-elf could ever compare.

* * *

Draco's POV:

Draco walked down the last flight of stairs, finally reaching the bottom floor of the Manor. He headed immediately toward the Dining Room, thinking of all the delicious foods that were being prepared for him to eat, right that moment.

Last night had been a fiasco, just as he'd imagined it would be, but it was still possible to pull Harry around. He wasn't lost yet. It was merely a set-back for Lucius to have revealed everything so early in the game. Draco himself would have waited and seduced the savior before revealing the truth behind everything, but Lucius obviously didn't want to take any such chances that Harry might hate him later for the deception. In a way it had been intelligent, to be honest from the beginning, but in a another way, it was stupid to show your cards before the game had even started. They would see what would happen soon.

The blonde strode through the Dining Room before planting himself in his seat from the night before and calling for an elf to serve breakfast.

Just as Draco had begun to work on eating his meal, Harry walked into the room from its discrete connection to the actual kitchen in the corner.

The veela looked at the other man with a great deal of amusement as he ate his meal in a bowl without looking where he was going and accidentally bumping into the table, probably causing a large bruise to appear.

_He'll feel that tomorrow._ Draco thought as Harry cursed various words before settling down into his seat as well for breakfast.

Draco composed himself as a long silence began. It wasn't really too uncomfortable because Draco was not the problem at hand for the dark-haired wizard, Lucius was. Still, the stress on the long pause made Draco feel like Harry was angry at him for not revealing the situation sooner.

_Gryffindors!_ Draco cursed mentally, then sighed and tried to think of something to talk about.

"Let's go riding."

Draco stared, wide-eyed, at Harry as he continued to eat his food without looking up from the steaming concoction.

"Riding?" Draco queried. "Why?"

Harry spared a moment from his meal to glare at Draco. "So now that I know you're a veela, you don't want to ever go riding with me again?"

Draco immediately realized that Harry thought Draco would now act different to him now that he knew of his heritage –that perhaps Draco might think he was even more superior than before, but that misconception could be fixed.

"You ass!" Draco replied coolly. "You think I would trust you with my horses by yourself? You must realize that I only come along on your stupid excursions to make sure you don't steal, or abuse my horses." He spoke snidely. "You _are_ a Gryffindor after all, and everyone _knows_ that Gryffindors can't be trusted… unlike _Slytherins_, of course, who are _very_ trustworthy."

Harry was snickering before Draco was through, and the blonde was trying valiantly to keep a straight face.

"Fucking Slytherins and their fucking control complexes." He remarked.

Draco sneered at him, then they both laughed briefly.

"Fine. When will this little stroll in the park take place?"

"An hour." Harry answered as he finished his food. "I still haven't showered yet."

"I _know_!" Draco responded indignantly as he waved his hand elegantly over his nose several times, trying to brush away the smell.

"Ass."

"Veela." Draco corrected with a smile.

"Same thing." Harry snapped as he stood. "See you in an hour, Veela." Harry walked out of the room as he mumbled about how the word "veela" made him think of "veal", and how he wanted to try it one day soon, which inadvertently made him hungry again.

* * *

Lucius' POV:

Lucius was just getting dressed when he heard a knock on his door. Though it was quite foolish to hope it would be his mate wanting to speak with him, his heart still fluttered at the thought.

"It's Draco." His son's voice announced through the door, causing Lucius' blood to run cold. He sighed heavily with the disappointment and called for his son to enter as he pulled a shirt over his head along with a cloak to warm him, even in these water-steamy rooms. The absence from his mate's touch was beginning to wear on him again. Now that they were so close, and still so far from each other, the warmth was beginning to dissipate from his body, even in hot rooms. Even if he were to be situated right next to a fire.

Draco entered his sights wearing his riding pants and robes, with a warm cloak covering himself as well.

Lucius vaguely wondered if his son also felt the cold the way he did. He hoped not. He hoped greatly that his son would never be tortured the way he was right then.

"You're going riding." Lucius stated.

"Yes." Draco nodded somewhat nervously, then sighed, trying to keep himself from showing all of his discomfort and sadness. "Harry asked me to go riding with him." He announced as his father went to sit near the lively fire.

"It's foolish to think that he also wanted me to come, so why are you here, I wonder?" Lucius asked somewhat harshly through his warring emotions, and he prayed that his son understood his pain.

Draco never lost his cool as he nodded the affirmative Lucius' presumption. "I just wanted to tell you we were going for a ride. Just in case you went searching him out, or something equally as foolish." Draco snapped, though he also hadn't meant to let his own emotions out. That damn Gryffindor was truly screwing everything up! The man effected his father's emotions, which in turn effected his own!

Lucius waved his hand toward his son, slightly hurt, but in complete understanding.

"My apologies." Lucius whispered to him.

"Mine as well." Draco murmured back.

A silence overtook the room as they both stared wantonly at the fire.

* * *

Harry's POV:

By the time Harry reached the stables, Draco was already there, with his mount, Stiger, standing beside him, and a few saddlebags filled with food attached to the saddle to keep it from sliding.

Harry smirked at the blonde. "Your horse looks lovely." The wizard told him sarcastically.

Draco looked back at his mount to see what Harry could be commenting about, when he saw Stiger taking a dump.

"Just for you." Draco commented dryly back to the dark-haired man approaching.

"Did you get the food basket, Goldie-locks!" Harry questioned as he strode into the stable. The dark-haired man knew his blonde companion wouldn't get the meaning of his words like he had meant them, but that was okay.

"I have the food, you prat!" Draco responded as he watched Harry lead a beautiful Palomino out of her stall, and tack her up. Within minutes they were ready to ride.

* * *

Draco's POV:

They rode mostly in silence. First through the great gardens, then out into the forests of the Malfoy Estates.

Draco wondered if the whole ride would go by in this awkward silence. He idly noticed the dew collecting on the tips of the leaves –not yet dried away because the trees were so thick here that the sun filtered through the trees at odd angles and intervals, not always reaching all of the plant-life.

"So you're a veela?" Harry asked as they slowed to a walk from the gallop they had been racing in.

The blonde was slightly taken aback by the sudden topic of conversation. Perhaps Harry felt betrayed that he had never told him before, or perhaps the dark-haired man wanted to ask him things so that he could better understand veelas, and, more specifically, Lucius.

"Obviously." He responded.

Harry snorted. "Oh, yes. I should have gotten that fact. How else could you be so fucking gorgeous without the veelas genes in your blood?" There was a great deal of sarcasm and hurt in the other man's voice, and Draco flinched slightly from it. "You probably would have turned out butt-ugly otherwise."

Even through the slight hurt, the younger veela could tell that his companion was having fun with him.

"Prat." He responded.

"You're _so_ ugly," Harry went on with a great deal of sarcasm and a huge smirk on his face, "that you should shave your ass and walk backwards. Might give people something nicer to look at."

Draco's attention snapped to Harry with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "I'll have you know that my ass is not, nor shall it ever be, hairy, _Harry_!"

Harry laughed so hard he had to stop his steed before he fell off.

"You bloody git!" Draco cursed, biting his lip angrily. He had just been insulted, yet he was very amused that Harry was joking so well with him.

When Harry finally came under control of his laughter, he sat upright again. "How about we stop for lunch in that clearing up ahead?" He asked with a bright blush to his cheeks from all of his laughing.

"Sounds fine." Draco grumbled as he kicked his horse into a trot.

After tying their horses loosely to a tree limb, both men pulled out a large blanket to sit on and whatever food the house-elves had packed for their journey.

As they began eating the fruit, sandwiches, cookies, deserts, and drinks, Harry continued their conversation.

"How much of you is veela? Was your mum veela at all?"

The first time Harry had visited the Manor, he had expected Narcissa to be there, but to his surprise, Draco informed him that his father and mother were divorced. The blonde had then threatened Harry that if he ever told the papers such a thing, then he would cut off Harry's unmentionables and send _them_ to the papers as well. It was from then on that they never spoke of Narcissa again.

Draco shook his head. "No, Mum wasn't veela at all. I only received my heritage from Father. I'm enough of a veela to desire a mate, but not enough to crave their touch, or feel cold all the time when I'm not in contact with them." He decided to throw in the extra couple of details, just so Harry would know something of how his father was feeling, and perhaps ask about it.

"So you have a mate?" Harry asked curiously, completely ignoring the comments that had been thrown at him.

Draco tried not to sigh heavily. This conversation was turning more toward himself, than it was his father, but perhaps he could still help educate Harry.

"Yes. I thought it was Blaise for the longest time, but because I'm not mostly veela, I couldn't be sure. I don't feel a pull like Father does. It could be that I will never discover who my mate truly is, but it won't eat at me like it does him. I could go through my whole life without my mate; he can't."

"So…" Harry bit into a sandwich as he began to think. "Shouldn't you be out meeting people? Don't you _want_ to find your mate, whoever that is? Do you know if it's a guy or girl?" He persisted.

The veela let out an agitated sigh. "I don't want to go out and meet people. The more people I meet, the more possibilities that roam around in my head. It nearly drove me crazy wondering if Blaise was the one! I don't even know what gender it is, or race! I can't handle all that searching. It's too painful for me. I don't know how people ever get married. This person could be the one, or that one, or that! There's always someone you meet later in life that _could be the one_! How do you _know_!" He shouted in exasperation, all of his frustrations surfacing.

Harry ruffled the blonde's hair in the silence that followed and Draco felt as if the other boy were his older brother, trying to quell his worries.

"I have a feeling." Harry whispered to him with a secretive smile. "I think you're going to find your mate, and I don't think it will take that many years for it to happen." He added.

Draco just looked at him dumbly. "What? How can you be sure?"

"Like I said…" Harry smiled warmly and Draco felt better for the comfort in those eyes. "It's a feeling."

The blonde smiled too. "Okay." They continued eating and drinking, until Draco suddenly remembered a question he'd been thinking of for a while. "How long are you here for?"

Harry shook his head, his long locks flying this way and that way with him. "Dunno. Probably not much longer. A few more days perhaps. I needed to get back to Hermione and organize a few things. I'm supposed to be going on a mission for long while."

"How long is a while?" Draco asked casually.

"A year, I think." He shrugged.

Draco nearly choked on his food. "Year!" He coughed a bit more. "When are you leaving?"

"Not for another two months. Or, actually, less than that. It was two month a week, or so, ago."

"So, you'll be staying for another month or so, right?" Draco asked trying not to seem too urgent, though it was.

"No. I'll need a month to myself, so I'll only be here another week… maybe two at most." Staying at Malfoy Manor was like a short vacation for Harry every time he visited. He was taken care of and practically pampered, though he didn't enjoy the pampering so much. All that attention made him feel bad for the house-elves.

Draco frowned worriedly as he began thinking of all the things he would have to tell his father. This was not a good development. They had to make the most of Harry's time there, or they would never be able to convince the man to stay and _not_ go on this mission. What if he didn't come back?

As they finished their meal and packed up, the atmosphere was much less tense –even with present news being taken into account- and there seemed to be nothing wrong with the world for those few minutes.

* * *

"You know that damn snake…" Draco was ranting as they approached the stables again.

"Ceres." Harry added, announcing the snake's name.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, your bloody snake…" He continued on, but Harry was tuning him out easily.

"Take Arena back to the stables for me, will you?" Harry queried as he dismounted, though he wasn't waiting for a response as he left Draco with the reins and turned the other way, appearing to be heading through the gardens back to the Manor.

"You asshole! You can't just leave me like this!"

The dark-haired wizard didn't even appear to have heard him in the slightest.

"Bastard." Draco hissed as he tugged Harry's horse along with him toward the stables.

* * *

Lucius' POV:

Lucius gave up on the book that he had been trying to read. All of this rubbish he had been trying to read about couldn't even _begin_ to distract him from his mate.

_Damn!_ He cursed.

He stood elegantly and exited his personal library.

As he strode down the hall toward the main corridor he flipped a casual insult toward the portrait of his aunt and was rewarded with a strain of curses following him all the way down the hall as she ran through other portraits, rudely shoving their occupants aside to catch up with Lucius' longer legs.

"… you half-breed _slut_!" She shouted, ending her rant as she ran out of portraits to hurtle through because Lucius had made it to the main staircase.

He whistled a tune softly, trying to irritate her further as he went, though his thoughts were on other things quickly.

He needed to think. No. He _needed_ his _mate_. That needed no thought, but he also needed some sort of plan.

As he stepped out one of the back doors, and into the gardens he smiled at the lovely day. It was a nice day for riding. Too bad Draco would be too tired to ride again, and his mate would not want to ride with him.

He sighed sadly as he walked through the thick gardens.

He heard a voice hiss and it startled him greatly. With the grace of any veela, Lucius swept behind a growing willow tree for cover. Its branches were not yet long enough to grace the ground, leaving him the ability to look out and see most of the garden easily, yet still be covered in shade.

His heart caught in place for a moment before picking up pace quickly.

There his mate sat beautiful on a small grassy incline beside a path when a bench was only a few feet away. He wore Muggle clothes, but also a cloak that accentuated his beauty exquisitely.

A snake slithered around in the grass beside him, basking in the sun and hissing at him.

Lucius became protective, immediately thinking it would attack his mate, but as his mate turned and spoke calmly back to it, he understood what was happening. Harry was having a conversation with the snake.

Why was there even a _snake_ in the gardens? All such creatures were kept out by the powerful wards! Had the wards failed somehow? He could still feel them with his magic, so that was impossible, but… then how?

For a moment, the veela couldn't bring himself to care. The beautiful sight before him caught his eye and nullified all thoughts.

The gorgeous creature that was his mate, stretched lazily and leaned back onto his elbows, absorbing the sun happily with closed eyes, as if he were in bliss in that moment. A light layer of sweat glistened from his tanned skin as he smiled peacefully.

Through all of this, an inconspicuous golden butterfly flew hazardously around the area of his mate before landing softly on one of the protruding locks of ebony hair that shot out from Harry's head as he leaned back.

_How adorable._ Lucius thought with a gentle smile as he watched the scene continue. He suddenly didn't feel as cold as he had only moments before, and it was a feeling that he would do anything to hold on to.

* * *

AN: I'm **very** sorry, but it's so late right now, and I just don't have the time for reviews if I'm going to get up in the morning and not the afternoon tomorrow, but I DO love you ALL so much! Thanks for your reviews and encouragement's, and thanks for your suggestions. You were all a great help!**Review if you love me… please? Or… even if you don't…**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Geez! I'm so sorry this is late! –blushes- I'm sooooo sorry!

Chapter 9

He wanted to rush over to his mate, though he knew that would ruin the peaceful atmosphere around the other man.

_Gods!_ Lucius thought with exhausting lust. _He's so much more beautiful and attractive and… younger than I'll ever be. I'll never look so youthful. I'm so old. How could he ever want me?_

The blonde felt a stab of his Malfoy pride intervening. He was a Malfoy! Malfoy's are perfect! Some plain wizard who isn't even pureblooded can't outdo a Malfoy, and a _veela_ at that!

Yet his veela side was disagreeing wholeheartedly. Beautiful. His mate would always outshine himself. No creature, not even himself, could ever compare to such beauty! Bloodlines had nothing to do with it. His mate had been well bred and had turned out to be the most gorgeous, most powerful wizard in all of the magical world.

How could he possibly compare? It was a crippling thought… to hope to be with such beauty one day and to know that you could never compare to such a shining enigmatic form.

He could always…

No.

No. If he did that…

Could it work? Would his mate want him then?

It was a thought… but how?

No. He wouldn't even consider it…

And yet…. It was so enticing –the thought of finally being able to earn his mate. To be able to 'reach for the stars', so the saying goes.

Could it work? It could. He would just need…

No. That was a stupid thought. He had to stop thinking these things.

But it could work!

Lucius looked back to his mate –glowing in the gentle rays of the warm sun in this cold atmosphere that seemed so much warmer now that he was looking upon his mate again. It was as if all of the tense feelings of sadness and pain and loss that had been building up for more than a year, were finally being released. And to think… he was only _looking_ at his mate.

* * *

Earlier that day…

Crookshanks lounged leisurely over the back of the couch sleepily as the sun shown through the large bay windows across the room over him.

He had been trying to sleep for the past few hours, but his restless master had made that task quite impossible. She hadn't been able to sit still the night before, and now she was shuffling around everywhere, with circles under her eyes, cleaning everything in sight. The night before she had taken it upon herself to keep her cat company, which –unfortunately for him- also included talking to Crookshanks through the better part of the night.

_She needs another stupid human._ The wise cat thought to himself as he watched her rush back and forth, wiping every table with a cloth that had been doused with a terrible smelling potion the witch had been up the rest of the night brewing. _Someone to take her mind off of everything else._ He scrunched up his nose. _Especially cleaning. Damn her and her horrid female instincts to clean. This smell is bad enough to wake the dead!_

All the windows had had to be opened to air out the house and now the downstairs was beginning to get a bit cool.

Crookshanks leapt from his perch and quickly shot through the room before he could be noticed, or caught in another attempt from his master for 'small talk'.

The cat slinked up the stairs stealthily, skipping the cracked step, so as to avoid slivers in his paw, which would draw the insanity that was his master's attention. He stalked over to her bedroom and used his head to push the slightly ajar door opened enough for him to get through.

With one graceful leap, he was up atop of her writing desk in front of the open window –again in the sun.

His master's room had been the first thing to have been gone through thoroughly, but because the window had been left open, the smell was mostly gone, and any lingering scent wasn't so bad that Crookshanks couldn't ignore it.

_Finally. Some well-deserved rest._ He sighed softly.

As the brindle cat finally fell into a gentle slumber, a familiar snowy owl flew through the window and practically crashed onto the desk in a tired ungraceful way.

_By the Cat Goddess!_ Crookshanks snapped into a defensive stance, his hackles raised as he glared at the owl with homicide clearly intent in his eyes.

_Where is she?_ The snowy owl asked with a wise air about her.

_Holy hairballs, Hedwig! You bloody owl! How dare you disturb my rest!_ The cat snapped back in silent reply as he glared hatefully at his flying feathered friend.

_You sleep more than three halves of the day away, what will three seconds of your time really cost you?_ The owl responded reasonably.

_I have been up all night, placating my master, then trying to sleep, but as you can plainly see, I failed at both! She is below, cleaning with that foul potion again! I daresay I shall leave a lovely little treat in the shoe of the bastard that taught her that potion!_ He growled menacingly.

Hedwig seemed to smile in that moment. _I believe my master would gladly help you in your escapades._ She responded. _Thank you, Crookshanks. I am terribly sorry to have bothered your rest._

With that said, Hedwig turned and flew back out the window to swoop around the misty house and find the correct window that would lead her to Hermione.

* * *

"What is it!" Hermione screeched in annoyance as she glared at all the clean objects around her. Not a speck of dust anywhere and it was only six twenty-nine in the morning. What would she do for the rest of the day? She would drive herself mad thinking of what was wrong, but wasn't. It was like that feeling that you had to go somewhere, and you know you've forgotten something, but you can never quite figure out what it was. "Why do I have this feeling?" She asked herself. It had been terrible. All night her woman's intutition had told her that something was going to happen. She was sure that she was missing a piece to the puzzle somewhere, but she neither knew the problem, nor the missing piece.

She huffed as she plopped heavily down into the chair that was Harry's favorite. She tried not to sit in it too often, or to let anyone else sit in it. It was Harry's; and that was that.

As she began to ponder the wonders of Harry's chair, said-man's owl came swooping into the room through one of the open windows.

"Hey, girl!" She called happily as she rose from her seat. "Have you got a letter from Harry for me?" She asked stupidly.

Of course the owl had a letter for her. It was wrapped around Hedwig's leg! Had Hedwig been more of a juvenile bird, she would have rolled her eyes at the question? She impatiently held out her leg to the bushy-haired woman, wanting to be free of the parcel she had flown so far to deliver during the night.

She knew the witch would probably want to pen a reply, but she didn't honestly desire to stick around any longer.

Hermione read the note quickly, then pulled a piece of parchment from a hidden draw beneath a side-table beside the luxurious couch. She took the quill that tourists always thought was cute, off of its fancy perch and dipped it into a bottle of ink she also kept in plain sight.

Without sounding like she was _too_ worried, Hermione wrote a reply detailing her thoughts to Harry that something might be happening soon, and she dreaded that it would probably be happening to Harry. It was better to warn the man ahead of time, rather than tell him some time later that she _might_ have known.

With a gentle smile and an owl treat in hand, Hermione tied the letter back to Hedwig's leg and sent her off.

_Bloody witch!_ Hedwig chirped bitterly. _Didn't offer me to stay, or have any water or anything! How indecent! _She flew off to a nearby birdbath that she knew of in a neighbor's yard. _At least _my_ master has the decency to feed me when I need it, love me even when I don't require it, and set me free when I desire._

_Ah. Now to get back to the Malfoy Manor._ That would be another few hours from then before she even arrived.

She sighed. It would probably be near midday before she arrived for another rest, but she needed to get back to her master. What if he was in desperate need of her whilst she was gone? It wasn't as if he could use one of those _other_ owls. They were so terribly frosty and unreliable. She was trustworthy and dependable.

Just that knowledge in mind made Hedwig proud. It made her want to fly back all the faster and be there for when her master _did_ need her.

_I'm coming, Master._ She thought determinedly.

* * *

Present time:

Harry stared up at the sunny sky as he felt a change in the breeze. Sunbathing was lovely. Just letting yourself absorb the sun like that, but it also made your body very sensitive to any kind of changes in the weather rather drastically.

Ceres was off somewhere to the side; sleeping in the sun probably, but the snake had clearly wanted to be alone.

He tiredly looked around the skies for whatever had disturbed his rest.

Ah! There's his distraction.

Hedwig soured gracefully through the air above like a hawk searching for her prey before diving down toward her master and using the wind to flutter effortlessly down until she had landed beside the dark-haired wizard.

"Hello, Hedwig!" Harry exclaimed happily as he affectionately rubbed the curve of her neck. "Did you deliver the message to 'Mione?" He wondered.

The owl puffed up indignantly, as if to ask, 'Where the hell else do you think I was?'. He smiled at her and laid back down.

"I'm sorry. I don't have any treats with me at the moment, but I left my window open for you." He spoke as he unraveled the tie to set her free of her burden. "There should be some food and water on my desk below the window. You can rest in there, if you like." He went to pet her soft feathers again and she nibbled lovingly at his fingers before taking back off into the air and using the current to help guide her tired body to her master's room in the maze of windows that made up the outside of Malfoy Manor.

Harry breathed in deeply, then slowly let it out as he watched her fly away. He tried vainly to remember if he had _actually_ left his window open. He paused in thought. He hoped that he had, or he would have one _very_ angry owl coming after him soon. It was a _very_ long trip from Hermione's house to the Manor, and there weren't many places to stop for water along the way without going a great distance out of one's way.

He looked down at the envelope and decided he would read it later. After folding it up, he stuffed it into his back pocket and laid back down with a heave of fresh air.

* * *

Lucius watched his mate with lust brimming inside him. So close. So _very_ close. What could he do? To get closer…

He had it! Brilliant!

The blonde casually left the tree he had hidden under, making his way to the path of the garden without making a sound. (Thank Merlin for his veela grace!)

Lucius brought out everything from himself that was veela and walked confidently down the path toward his lounging mate.

* * *

At the gentle sound of footsteps on the stone path Harry's eyes broke open when he noticed that the steps were too heavy to have been his younger blonde friend.

He closed his eyes again as he decided that Lucius wasn't enough of a threat to warrant him sitting up, especially when he felt this comfortable laying out in the sun.

"Hello, Harry." Lucius greeted, slowing his pace and stopping in front of Harry, but so that he wasn't in his mate's sun.

"Lucius." He responded tartly without moving.

When Harry sensed that the other man hadn't moved he opened one of his eyes and squinted the other open, shading his face with his hand to be able to see the blonde's face.

_His hair looks like threads of gold in this light._ Harry thought idly, also wondering why he hadn't noticed that about Draco's hair. Probably because it wasn't as long as Lucius'. The younger blonde seemed to like his hair much shorter than his father's. Either that, or Lucius just hadn't gotten around to having his hair trimmed down yet.

"Did you want something?" Harry demanded after the other man merely stood there for nearly a minute.

"Yes, actually." Lucius nodded once, then said no more.

Harry growled in irritation, watching the Malfoy smirk down at him as he rose from the ground, dusting himself off and snapping again:

"Well, what the bloody hell is it?"

"Is what?" The blonde responded innocently, loving the way Harry looked when he was agitated.

"What do you _want_, Malfoy?" He asked dangerously, and Lucius realized how little patience his mate had at the moment. It was probably from having his sunbathing disrupted.

"I was curious to whether you would like to go flying with me?" He finally asked, inwardly cringing at the possible retorts that might come back at him. "Perhaps a game of Quidditch between us?" Lucius queried with an elegantly raised brow.

"Quidditch?" Harry responded; intrigued, yet confused and doubtful.

"Yes. A one-on-one for Seekers." Lucius added helpfully.

Harry's brow shot up underneath his long bangs. "You play Seeker?" He questioned disbelievingly.

"Why do you think Draco took that position instead of Beater?" The veela asked, a golden brow arched handsomely above his crystal blue eye.

The brunet decided not to respond, but Lucius could definitely tell he was intrigued by the idea of getting on a broom again.

"I don't have my broom here." Harry spoke finally. Lucius almost sighed with relief at the consent, but held it in, just incase the dark-haired wizard decided that he wanted to retract his acquiescence.

"We have a broom shed, but I'm afraid the newest broom it contains is only a few Firebolts. None of the new models."

Harry shrugged with a slight smile forming on his lips. "That's the last broom I bought as well, so it should be fine, as long as they're not hexed or anything." He glared warningly at the blonde.

"Why would I hex them?" Lucius asked, slightly miffed at the thought that he would intentionally harm his mate.

The young wizard chose not to respond to that, and instead looked around the vast garden again. "So, where shall we fly then?"

"A few miles to the East is a large open field. That should prove sufficient for our game, yes?" Lucius asked with a raised brow, trying to seem uncaring though his heart was really beating a mile a minute. His façade must have worked because Harry nodded in compliance.

"That sounds fine."

They both began walking toward the Manor for their supplies. The veela felt his body heat up with warmth as he watched his mate out of the corner of his eye. There was a slight bounce in his step that let the blonde know he was eager for this game.

"It shouldn't take long for me to beat you, anyway." Lucius spoke snidely without looking over to his mate, who immediately snapped his head toward Lucius about to jump at the bait. At the last moment he caught and restrained himself, which was quite the difficult task with his Gryffindor pride being questioned.

"We'll see if you can keep up…" Harry responded casually, though his entire manner was quite playful indeed, "… old man."

Lucius' eyes snapped wide open as he turned to look at Harry, but the youth was fighting a wide grin. The blonde had been terribly insulted that his mate would think him an old man and it only made him feel more self-conscious, but with his mate joking with him now, he really couldn't think of anything else aside from:

_I caused him to smile. He smiled because of me!_ And a proud smirk appeared across his features as they stalked into the Manor.

"Eva!" Lucius called out as they entered the Manor. He slowly placed one hand on his mate's shoulder daringly and felt the man flinch in surprise, turning to look at him.

"What?" He demanded, a bit startled.

"I just wanted to take your cloak for you." Lucius responded coolly, though he felt deeply saddened that his mate would flinch at his touch. He told himself quickly that he had merely startled the other man, and it wasn't _really_ just because he had touched him.

Harry looked pleasantly surprised and untied his cloak with deft fingers as Lucius came up behind him and slid the cloak off his shoulders delicately. It gave him shivers, but he chose to ignore those.

"Master?" Eva called softly through the silence between the two men, and the blonde remembered that he had indeed summoned her.

"Please pull out my old Quidditch robes, and find Mister Potter suitable robes as well." He told her handing her Harry's cloak. "And hang Mister Potter's cloak for him."

"Quidditch?" Draco called out as he stepped into the Manor through the same door they had. He gave a sharp bark of laughter. "You can use my robes if you like." Draco told Harry as he measured him up silently.

The way Draco looked his mate over made Lucius fiercely jealous, but his more rational adult side told him Draco didn't think of Harry like that. It didn't help his jealous veela side any though.

"You look about my size. Maybe a bit bigger around the chest, but they should fit you well enough for a play-match. Hope you don't mind green?" Draco teased with a smirk.

Harry sneered for a moment, then shrugged with a sigh. "We all know I'm Gryffindor. I suppose it doesn't matter what robes I wear."

Lucius' eyes widened as he heard these things. Where was the boy that he had remembered from so long ago? He had matured, and grown into a real man. It had happened some time in the past two years and Lucius felt proud that his mate was so mature; it seemed to almost bring their ages closer together, but the veela still knew his mate was hardly an adult. He had experienced many things most adults never would, and yet he was still a child at heart. He was playing a part by being an adult, but deep inside, the older blonde could see his mate wanted to release the child inside of him. Hopefully he would help with that during their little Quidditch match. Maybe it would bring back the laughing sparkle to those gorgeous green orbs behind those thick black lashes.

_Beautiful._

"Oh, but you'll look so cute in my old robes!" Draco exclaimed.

"I could just go retrieve my old team robes from one of those boxes I left in your attic." Harry suggested, but Draco was already shoving him up the stairs toward his room.

When Draco walked back after Harry had started to move by himself, Lucius was about to snap off Draco's head for his comments when his son winked at him.

"My robes will be too small on him." Draco told his father suggestively. "I hope you enjoy the view. It might get kind of hot out there… he might want to… you know… take off the robes and play without them."

Now that his son's logic was clear, Lucius smirked devilishly at his flesh and blood.

"I taught you well."

"Yes, of course. Now, go change!" He shoved his father off toward the West Wing with a gentle smile. "We need to speak together later after this is through. Meet me in my room before dinner." Draco spoke deeply and Lucius knew it was serious, but it could obviously wait a while longer.

He continued toward his room at a happy pace, totally ignoring his Aunt's curses at him as he walked silently by, whistling softly to himself in some random tune.

* * *

Draco sighed as he watched his father climb the stairs.

Did he hear whistling?

_No. Couldn't be._ He shrugged it off, then thought of their later conversation again.

He didn't want to burst the other blonde's happy moment. He would be spending the entire afternoon with his mate. Perhaps Draco wouldn't even have to break the news to his father.

He highly doubted that… but it was a possibility.

* * *

A/N: Ai. This was a bit late, but things are definitely progressing, very soon. Even if you don't think this part was crucial, it was in my mind. –blush-

**To those wonderful reviewers that keep me going:**

**Strega:** I don't think you mentioned how much you liked the screaming portrait, but I'm glad you do, it has to be my favorite part of the story so far. We'll get to that bit where Draco tells Lucius about Harry leaving –probably in the next chapter, but I'm not sure. The next chapter might have to be extra long, or a little short to accommodate. I'm not sure yet.

**Shewolfe7:** Thank you. I'm glad you like it. The next chapter should prove to be a bit… interesting. I hope you stick around for it!

**DaftMeg:** You see into the characters so well. It's stunning. I'm happy you like the story so far.

**Jesse:** I'm sorry this took so long, and you check for updates every day? I am not on your author alert list? I hate to disappoint you daily without updates. I only update every two weeks or so though. I write it, then take time to stew over it before adding, to make sure everything will fit well. Oh, and you know, I was actually thinking of putting Hermione and Draco together at first. Key words… "at first". I actually read one fic where they worked well together, but I doubt I could live up to that, so I'm going a different route. You'll see. All in due time.

**HecateDeMort:** Thanks. –blush- So glad you put in your own two cents. If there's anything you'd like to see, please speak up, I'm open to suggestions. It's not all set in stone… yet.

**GothicAnn87:** Oh, yeah! I _way_ appreciate every last word, even if the only word on the review is 'Great'. It makes me very happy to know that someone took the time to say anything at all. Most people just read it and say, 'well, now I have to wait for the next update' instead of encouraging the updates. It's that last review I usually get like the day before my next update that gives me the energy to write for like six hours straight, you know? I'm babbling. Sorry. And sorry this took a while, but I … eh, life happened. –smile- -shrug-

**Lykaois Nyx:** I hope I spelt your name right. I had to go back a forth a few times. Maybe I'll do better the next time you review? –hint hint- Your birthday was a while ago? Congrats! Happy belated Birthday! Yes, I like the bickering between Draco and Harry as well. It's fun to write. At first I had them as perfect friends, but then I realized what a crock that would be in real life, so I used my special talent for sarcastic and lewd remarks, and made some conflict.

**Immortal Memories:** Yes, I suppose it would be funny if Neville were Draco's mate, but I never saw them as anything together. Perhaps Neville and Ginny, but not really anyone else. I've read fics with him paired with Snape, or Ron, or someone and it's just… not real… Anyway, sorry about the delay!

**A-Brighter-Dawn:** I saw you started a new story. Is that going to interfere with your updates on your others? –whimpers- I hope not. –blushes- Thanks for the compliments. I learned to add those small details a long time ago when my teacher told me to summarize this huge story into twenty-five words. I couldn't do it in less than thirty, and it's just become a huge thing with me since then. –blushes deeper- Your comments are so nice. I try to make stories flow, and that's where it usually catches me and makes me take longer, because something doesn't flow, so I have to get my creative juices flowing again before I can continue. It's always better to look at something with a fresh set of eyes. Thanks for reviewing, and I can't wait for you to update again either!

**Salena-Jagonashi:** Sorry it took me so long to update, but I'm very glad that you liked the story! I appreciate your input bunches!

**Anux:** Your name makes me think of the movie 'The Mummy' with Brandon Frasier. Anux-unamoon or something. I probably just murdered her name, but that's what it made me think of, but if you don't live in the US you probably have no idea who and what I'm talking about. Sorry. The Harry/Lucius interaction will begin shortly. The next chapter will be… interesting. I haven't written it yet, so I can't say if anything… definite happens, but I have a vague outline. –smirk- You'll have to wait and see.

**Megami101:** You're right. It is a shame there aren't more Lucius/Harry ships out there. There are so few good ones, and a lot of people just stop them half way through, or abandon them. I totally have this ending planned out though. This will be my second fully completed fic. –jumps with joy- I don't know how long it will take, but I'm looking forward to my mini celebration for myself before moving on to the next one I have planned and half written already, which also includes Harry and an older man.

**Fragonknight01:** Okay, Arwen, no stolen kisses in Harry's sleep or anything… I mean, he is an Auror after all, but that doesn't mean some interesting stuff might not happen in the next chappie. I'm getting all sorts of evil ideas even as I write this. I better get to it, neh?

**Scorpion Moon Goddess:** So sorry to torture you by just leaving it at that last thought, but I can't really help what my hands do. It's kind of automatic. You know? –shrugs- Sorry! It's been a while since my last update, but hopefully this makes up for the time difference.

**The True Silver:** Yes. Harry knows that he's Lucius' mate, but he's trying to work it all out in his head. He's not quite sure what to do, but he doesn't just want to jump into some relationship with someone he doesn't know at all. He's a suspicious Auror, and he's matured and grown quite a bit since a year ago. He won't rush in to things as easily as he once did for reasons I will explain in later chapters. So, read on! –chuckles-

**Lionnes:** Sorry about the lack of chapters for a while, but I only overshot my goal by two days. I was supposed to update on Monday and it's only Wednesday. I'm still kind of within range. I kind of had a report due on Monday though, so that left no time for updating. –begs forgiveness-

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A/N: **SORRY AGAIN!** Please review this love-starved author! –pouts cutely- 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Holy shit! Two hundred reviews is almost here! **Maybe I should do something special after two hundred! –hint hint-!

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Chapter 10

As Lucius opened the broom shed he noticed a rather moldy smell and sneered at it.

Harry stepped up beside the man, in front of the large shed door, after seeing his reaction. As soon as he got a whiff of the shed, he snatched a broom from the rack in the back and rushed back out, only breathing again after exiting the building.

He gagged and coughed on the smell before straightening himself and standing off to the side, now facing Lucius again.

The veela had watched his mate with half amusement, half dread that he would have to complete a similar action because the smell inside –he was sure- was worse than merely standing at the door.

He decided he would have an elf work on the smell as they flew, but he needed a broom first. After all, it would take much too long if they had to wait for the house-elves to clean up the shed.

He could feel his mate's anxiety. The dark-haired man was full of energy, that he clearly wanted to get out, and what better way than a game both would enjoy?

With a sturdy intake of breath, he tried to enter the shed more calmly. He managed the whole affair of grabbing the broom without gagging, or rushing in any manner.

As he began breathing again, his mate eyed him with a scowl for his calmness.

"Where is this field?" Harry questioned, looking away from the veela.

"Follow me." Lucius instructed as he began to walk a distance toward the forest. The broom shed and flying area were quite a distance apart. The field was off in the middle of the woods where a great space was clear and grew only gentle grass –perfect for flying and swooping low to the ground, or landing roughly, because there were no rocks of accountable size in the general area. The shed was placed near the Manor, as a statue's base, in the thick of the Malfoy Gardens.

The long trek to the field was mostly one of silence, though Lucius racked his brain for topics of conversation that were safe, yet interesting.

…

Needless to say, he came up with a sparse few.

…

"How are things?" Lucius began lamely and berated himself for the tattered beginning to a conversation.

"_Things_?" Harry queried in a slightly miffed manner. Even Draco could come up with better ways to break the ice than that. The man must really be nervous to be lacking that Malfoy grace he had had only moments before whilst entering the shed.

"Yes, things. How have you been since your graduation? Have you done anything of particular interest? Visited any new cultures? Learned anything you hadn't known before?" He corrected, regaining some dignity that he knew Harry recognized by the way he inclined his head in thought.

"I've been well. I've learned new magic since graduation. Several particular detection, warding, and shielding spells I immediately learned from my fellow Aurors that were of fantastic use to me this past year." He began without much emphasis, as if he could picture the times those spells had saved his life, but he didn't much want to bring them to the surface. He glanced at Lucius and saw the veela eager to listen to more of what he spoke.

He sighed in consent. What was the harm in revealing how his year had gone and who he had met? The man wanted to get to know him better. Perhaps they could both learn interesting things about each other and make their situation more bearable on both parts. Mayhap, he might even find Lucius to be a better friend than Draco. The older blonde _did_ seem so much easier to talk to. It was just something inside Harry that made him hesitate, though he didn't quite know why. His childhood came back to him as he fell into his own thoughts rudely.

He had never been able to really learn to make friendships. It was something that had always been hard for him. His uncle had told all of the neighborhood parents –who, in turn, told their kids- that he was a problem child and very freaky. It had forced Harry to never associate with practically anyone else until he was eleven. Because of his lack of contact with people, he not-easily trusted people and it had taken him forever to let his guard down around Draco. Hell, it was only because he was friends with Draco that he was even considering giving his father a chance.

At one point in his life he had been willing to accept anyone that would give him love, but now he was more careful to protect his heart –as it had been shattered and glued back together so many times now… he had to be careful to protect himself, or there would be no heart to break the next time.

"Harry." Lucius whispered softly to bring the teen back to his surroundings. They were now just entering the forest and Harry smiled sheepishly as he glanced at Lucius, a blush rising to his cheeks.

"Sorry. Floated off for a moment there. Where was I? Uh, yeah, learned some new stuff when I was with my Auror friends, and also visited a lot of neat places. I once saved an elf from a vampire." He added as if boasting.

Lucius' brows rose in shock. It was quite a feat to save an elf; quite worth boasting, indeed.

"Amazing." The veela commented in praise. "How had the vampire caught the elf?"

"Oh, it was really just an accident that I happened upon them, but I wasn't on duty one mission when we were down South, and as I was wandering a nearby city I heard a desperate cry. An Ancient vampire had found a distracted submissive elf. He had been cackling about what sweet blood he would draw from the elf and how he hadn't had that pleasure for more than a millenium. I cast a sun-ball spell that cost me nearly half my magic, but it did the trick and burned the vampire so badly that he nearly didn't make it away from me and into the forest for safety from the light." Lucius' mouth was agape as he stared at his startling mate. That was quite a powerful spell to be cast so casually, and on only one vampire. "The elf turned out to be the mate to some High Elf of the Elf Kingdom. When her mate found us there –me tending to her wounds with what little healing magic I knew- he almost thought that I was the aggressor, but his mate sorted everything out and I was in their good graces. She said that she had merely been distracted thinking of her mate and gotten lost, which made her easy prey in the dark of night without her mate." Harry explained proudly.

"What did they offer you for such a deed?" The veela wondered curiously.

Harry's face darkened somewhat sadly. "They offered me many things, but I opted to merely know where I could reach them if I was ever in need of their aid, which they offered wholeheartedly." He didn't elaborate any more and Lucius didn't press the subject.

"Hmm." Lucius hummed softly to himself as he thought of veelas and their mates. "Yes, mates –whether dominant or submissive- tend to be rather protective, thinking of their mate and their mate's needs rather often." He explained, trying to show how he felt to Harry without outright saying it.

Lucius eyed Harry's slim form in the moments of silence that followed. Draco had been right; Harry was defined in all the right spots when he wore the smaller robes. He would thank his son when he spoke to him again later.

"Did you ever try to marry Draco off?"

It was quite a sudden question, and not one Lucius had been expecting in the least.

"What makes you ask a thing like that?" He asked after a moment.

"I was told that that was what all pureblooded families did. They picked another pureblooded person of good breeding and arranged for them to be married when they turned a certain age. I was just curious if you ever planned anything like that for Draco."

"No." Lucius shook his head. "Never. The day he was born, I held him in my arms for most of the day, and later, when he opened his eyes, I could tell he had veela in him. It was just something that one veela could see in another, like being able to tell what someone's eye color is. Just something very obvious, but cloudy at times because of mixing. I could see it in him though, and I knew he would never be happy like I wanted him to if we arranged for him to marry some random person. It was then that I realized what a mistake it was to serve the Dark Lord. Really, if Draco's mate turned out to be a Muggle, or a mixed witch, was I going to condemn him for what was born to him? Of course not. I had no choice but to abide by the Dark Lord though. Had I betrayed him, Draco would have never seen his maturity age. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded slowly, processing the information. It was easier for Harry to see why Draco was so absorbed in acting in only ways that would cause his father pride. His father was an honorable family man deep down. Perhaps those things Draco had been telling him were true?

They walked on in silence, the wind swirling the leaves around the trees and rustling the branches from one tree to another.

"So… how old _are_ you?"

That struck hard. Lucius hid his worry and fear without fault and turned slightly so that he could see his mate's reaction to his age.

"Thirty-eight."

Harry's smile was almost unnoticeable, but it caused Lucius to gape at the younger man. Why was he smiling! Could it be…?

"So you were my age when you had Draco." Harry murmured, only causing Lucius to frown with confusion. His mate was baffling him more with each word.

"Yes, I suppose I was." Lucius agreed, feeling every bit as old as he had spoken. He was twice his mate's age…

Harry smiled nostalgically. _Kids…_ He thought sadly. _Maybe in my next lifetime._ He spoke no more of his reasons for smiling to the older Malfoy who then began stewing about their age gap again.

"When is your birthday?" Lucius wondered, knowing that his own was coming up in a few months.

"July." Harry answered easily. "Yours?"

"Soon." He grumbled. "Two months."

"What month is it right now?" Harry wondered as he looked around at the falling leaves.

"You don't know!" The veela snapped back in shock beginning to laugh inwardly as he waited for the confirmation.

"It's autumn!" Harry responded defensively. "I've been gone for a while, is all! I'm barely able to keep track of what day of the week it is, let alone what month it is. Just answer me and bugger off."

The blonde couldn't help but snicker at that. How humorous. The poor boy didn't even know what _month_ it was!

"August." He answered through his laughs.

"Thank you, Sir Laughs A Lot." The youth retorted. "Your birthday is in October?"

"All Hallows Eve." Lucius nodded.

"Sounds fun." Harry murmured. "My birthday's not near anything special like that. It's just at the end of the month. You know?" He shrugged.

They continued walking –Harry occasionally commenting on the weather or a flower that caught his eye.

"Do you still have it?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Have what?" Lucius asked with his brow raised.

"The Mark." The dark-haired man clarified. No more needed to be said.

Instead of answering Lucius rolled up the sleeve to his left arm and showed Harry the expanse of pale smooth skin until the junction of the elbow where the mark had been and only a slight scar remained.

"It disappeared with that bastard's magic. I have you to thank for that, too." He spoke sincerely.

Harry examined the arm stopping their trek for a moment as he grabbed the strong arm for closer examination.

At the contact Lucius' body temperature rose several degrees and the terrible feeling that had been eating away at him –the longing and desire- was momentarily abated as his mate's fingers grazed the quarter-sized scar on the belly of his arm.

"Some Death Eaters remain with The Mark; some end up with large burn scars that take up the entire space of where the scar had been. We had a theory that the size of the burn was debated by how loyal they had been, but we decided that that was crap because some very weak, disloyal pieces of shit still had The Mark. My guess is that it is the power of the wizard combined with their loyalty for their master that destroyed The Mark. Once the master of the magic was gone, so was the power keeping The Mark alive. All that was then needed was a purer energy to combat with the evil of The Mark. Your veela power must have disintegrated every last bit of The Mark." He reasoned, all the while caressing the scar.

Was this really happening? Was his mate really caressing his old scar? Had he just insinuated that Lucius was made of more pure magic than most? Would the wizard trust his intentions now? Would he be more open to the veela?

"You can't be all _too_ pure, though." Harry murmured as he released his firm grip and feather touches. "The scar's still there."

"Probably my conniving Slytherin side." Lucius reasoned in jest, not really able to be saddened by his mate's words much when he considered the amount of progress they had just made. To him, they had just leapt over a giant hurtle, and now were faced with mere hills.

"More sly and contemplative than conniving, I'd say." Harry voiced as he began walking again.

Lucius caught up easily –with his slightly longer legs- in only two strides and smiled at the Gryffindor. "What would provoke a lion to say that?" He queried with an amiably raised brow.

"This lion happens to know –and have gotten into many fights with- a snake, and has come to the conclusion that-" He paused to glare at Lucius, "And should you ever tell another soul I said this, I shall take great joy in disemboweling you." Lucius gulped visibly. "-snakes tend to think things through more thoroughly than lions, and they aren't all bad; just as not all Gryffindors run head-long into things without thinking them through." He eyed Lucius for one meaningful moment before looking back to where he was walking.

The veela understood. Harry was speaking of himself at the end. He was thinking things completely through before making a move. More of a Slytherin move than a Gryffindor one, but wise nonetheless.

Despite being excluded from earlier events, Lucius felt this day was the second best one of his entire life. The first would have to be the first whole day Lucius got to spend with his son, the day he was born, while Narcissa was being treated by a medi-witch. He doubted anything could ever top that… well… perhaps the day his mate and he finally married, or mated… whichever came first.

Lucius was thrown from his thoughts when he suddenly bumped into an immobile Harry. They both stumbled for a moment before regaining their balance, but the veela was quite happy for their connection in that moment. He was getting a lot of contact with his mate today! Why had his mate stopped so abruptly though?

Looking up, Lucius realized they had arrived.

Ah. The field.

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**A/N: If we hit two hundred reviews before two weeks from now, then I'll update early. We'll just call it a marker or something. –smiles-

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**A-Brighter-Dawn:** I'm really sorry about your friend posting a story under your account. I understand how that made you feel. I'm glad me updating was able to make you a bit more cheerful.

**Chocolatedemon:** Thanks. I try very hard to make sure my wording is normal, as if I were actually telling the story to you instead of explaining the facts of what happened in my head. I used to write "he said" "she said" but it never looked right, so… anyway thanks for the thoughtful comments.

**Daftmeg:** Yes, I do imagine Crookshanks as a bit of a Garfield. Cats are supposed to sleep most of the day anyway, so I figure if I were him I'd be extremely grumpy about my lack of sleep. I was also tired at the time so that probably contributed to it.

**HecateDeMort: **Thanks, Pumpkin. I don't know why I called you that, but… I like it. Pumpkin. Do you mind? –chuckle-

**Strega:** Yes! There is plenty of plotting. I see myself as very Slytherin though I love the color red as well, so… I understand the whole pride-of-thine-colors (in my school it's pride-of-thine-shops, like Carpentry against Plumbing –damn Shit-chasers) but I also love other colors… and you also need Plumbers to fix your toilets, so there's no way to get around interacting with the fuckers. Pardon my French. Don't know where that phrase came from either! Ha! Wow, I'm in a funny mood right now. Sorry if I offended you!

**Salena-Jagonashi:** Dude, thanks! I used to say 'dude' all the time, then people started making fun of me for it… now they say it constantly… I guess I grew on them, and you just reminded me of that. It made me smile!

**Immortal Memories:** Yes, poor Harry. But you want to know what's worse than having two scheming veelas after you… having two _angry_ scheming veelas after you…

**GothicAnn87:** I think I answered your question in that email I sent you. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask away. Sorry this took so long to update, but it wasn't my fault this time. It was being down on the day I was ready to update –Monday.

**SheWolfe7:** You liked the animal conversation too? Cool! I was hoping that would go over well. I can just picture those two doing that too. They don't agree completely, but cooperate for their own gains.

**Death-by-Inkpen:** No! You're not a horrible cyber friend! You're a wonderful friend because, you see, you thought enough of me to at least say something, whether it's several chapters later or not. It's okay to not review _every_ chapter, as long as you check in with thoughts on some of my cuter ideas and make sure I know you're still with me!

**Anux:** Well, _something_ happened this chapter, it just wasn't anything too thrilling… yet. I wanted the relationship to progress as far as knowledge of each other, but I've also got some rather –cough cough- interesting parts planned and written out already. We just have to lead up to them. I don't know how long it will take. Hopefully not too long!

**Rini:** Thanks for the thoughts. Your name makes me think of Sailor Moon's daughter. –smile- Brings back memories. –sighs-

**KatFay:** How else would Lucius get harry to spend time with him… in close contact for a _long_ period of time? It _is_ a very long walk to the field, then there's the "accidental" collisions or whatnot… I think you can see where his veela mind was going with this.

**Lykaios Nyx:** You're the only one that commented on him whistling… ha! I thought it would be adorable. I, myself, can't whistle, but if I could and I were in that situation I would be whistling down the hall, not only because I'm happy, but also to annoy the portrait. And yes, when I'm talking about the "later conversation" I'm talking about 'Oh, sorry, Lucius, but Harry will be leaving in less than a month so you'll have to pick up the pace a bit and if you screw it up and piss him off you may never see him again.' Hope that cleared things up?

**Pure Black:** Glad you like it. If you have any questions, please ask. Some people were confused about 'the conversation' I was referring to, and the random characters I planned earlier.

**Dark-Faerie161:** It's alright that you haven't reviewed or even read anything of mine in a while. I'm just glad you're still with me. –smile- I appreciate you, you know?

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A/N: Ah! So… on to the next chapter. Hopefully nothing will be wrong with when I go to update next time. We can hope! 


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: **I'm so thankful for all of you guys reviewing like that! I wish I could have put this out sooner, but I had like no free time this past week, and all of my free time was devoted to this, so here it is… a week early! Thanks for reviewing!

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Chapter 11

He clutched the Firebolt tighter in his sweating hand. "The game is afoot." Harry mumbled absentmindedly and Lucius wondered what he had meant exactly, but decided not to question the youth on it. "So," Harry spoke louder as he turned to his blonde companion, "where's the snitch?"

Lucius patted his flying robe's, then dug his hand in the huge right pocket, producing a small well-manicured maple box, clasped by two small gold latches. As he opened the box for Harry to see inside, he made a quick survey of the youth's eager form. He had energy built up; that was undeniable. He would be a tough opponent.

Harry was very suspicious of the small box. Why would anyone keep a snitch separate from the rest of the Quidditch balls, and in such a fine box as well… with velvet lining? He saw the reasoning behind it when he noticed the slick curves along the golden outside of the snitch that had obviously been placed there with a magical quill of some sort that had indented into the snitch a signature.

"Why such an intricate box?" Harry asked as he looked over the snitch, then tentatively took it from the box. His auror instincts told him to be wary of the snitch because of how it was handled, but he ignored that for now. Lucius wouldn't trick him after all those personal thoughts the veela had shared with him earlier. He didn't think the veela wanted to lose the little trust he had earned so far, and he was right.

"It was your father's."

Harry's eyes widened as they snapped to Lucius' for clarification, or perhaps validation.

"He used to play with the damn thing all the time." As Lucius spoke and the memories came back to him –times when he used to get so frustrated with the brunet for his continuous play with the snitch, as if taunting Lucius, saying that he would always be the one to catch the golden object. He felt his age in that moment before he returned to his Harry. "Well, I became so infuriated and frustrated with him and his constant play with the damn thing that I challenged him to a match –the winner would take the snitch and pride." He smirked evilly. "It was his first defeat, the bastard."

Lucius realized his words only after he had said them, and tried not to appear as frightened as he was that he had offended his mate.

Harry scowled lightly, but did not fight for his father's honor. He had no delusions that his father was some perfect saint; not after his fifth year anyway. That didn't mean he wanted to hear his family being cursed right before him so openly.

"Sorry." The veela whispered softly and sincerely. Harry nodded once, but still scowled as he released the snitch. "Would you like to practice first?"

"After you." Harry responded in a grumble as he glared at the blonde.

Lucius paused before mounting his broom and kicking off to find the damn snitch.

_I was doing so well._ Lucius thought to himself grumpily. _He'll forget._ He reasoned with his veela side. _He'll forget once the game starts._

Lucius twisted swiftly on his broom and nearly lost his balance.

_Damn!_ He thought. Had Harry seen that? Most likely. It had been so long since he'd had the free time to just ride his broom and not give a damn about anything else. He wondered if Harry was any better off.

_Of course!_ Lucius chastised himself.He played professional Quidditch a few months before then. Of course he was in shape and ready to fly!

After twenty five minutes of still not being able to find the gold ball, Lucius looked back down to Harry in a quite embarrassed state that he tried his damnedest to hide; though Harry wasn't even looking at him –he realized.

Lucius tried looking over to where Harry was eyeing something and found the snitch in perfect sight on the other side of the field. Had the young seeker ever even lost track of the snitch? Probably not.

After spinning around quickly Lucius soared off after the ball. How was he going to play this game with Harry when his mind was on impressing the little imp instead of catching the stupid golden snitch!

He landed swiftly with the item in hand and stumbled a step after regaining gravity. What caused a heavy stir to go through his blood was when the dark-haired wizard reached out with those sharp reflexes and grabbed his elbow roughly to balance the veela out again.

"Thank you." Lucius whispered, heavily, rather close to Harry's ear.

"It's nothing." Harry stepped away without responding to the gesture at all. "You're pretty out of practice." Harry murmured to himself as he considered what to do. Sure Lucius could have been a fantastic seeker in his days… wow, that really made the veela sound old… but he was a bit out of practice now. He had the skills; he just needed a little '_Ennverate_' to get his abilities to the surface, or this would not even be a trial of skills. The wizard wanted a challenge, not an easy win. He could play by himself if he wanted that! "Let's try this again? Hmm? This time, I'll coach you."

Before Lucius could form a decent respond, the other man had already mounted his broom and kicked off the ground.

"Here goes nothing." Lucius mumbled, now even more worried about his performance, but at least his mate would be helping him… maybe getting close and…

"Are you coming!" Harry shouted down to him and the veela quickly mounted his broom and joined his mate in the air.

After releasing the snitch, they both waited patiently for a minute, letting the golden ball lose sight of them –or rather the other way around.

"Alright. Now relax." Harry ordered. "you're so tense up here, you'll never be able to concentrate enough to find it. You've got to find a center –no matter how stupid that sounds. Find your balance point. You're just a little off because you haven't been in the air in so long. I have an unfair advantage over you, really, but I figured you were more of a natural, rather than a learner."

"Natural? Learner?" Lucius queried.

"Yeah." Harry nodded as memories came back to him. "There's a difference between a natural born flyer and the guy that has to practice and take great care to concentrate whilst flying so they don't fall off. For instance, the moment I first shouted 'Up!' to my broom in came to me and that very day I was picked as a seeker for the Gryffindor team. I'm sure Draco griped about that to you."

Lucius nodded the affirmative as he took a moment to scowl at that memory. Draco didn't know how to take loss very well… scratch that –he didn't know how to take loss at _all_.

"A learner is way different. Learners usually force themselves to learn for some reason. Most people just give up on Quidditch if they don't have the knack for it from the beginning, or they have people teach them and they train very hard to get the skills to fly just as well as naturals. One of my teammates in the professionals was a Learner. The rest of the team said that even in the off-season he had to fly almost every day, or he would lose the touch and have to start from the basics of balance again. It takes longer for a natural to get rusty, so I'm obviously going to be more comfortable than you."

"You've probably flown more recently than I have, as well!" Lucius commented.

"True." He shrugged. "Now find your position."

The veela groaned inwardly. No position would be comfortable on a stick! He didn't understand how professional would want to fly around on sticks all day chasing stupid balls. He had liked it when he was younger because it had put him in the lime light, but as he had gotten older, he just hadn't seen the point to it at all. When he felt a hand on his back advancing a gentle pressure, Lucius nearly couldn't control his gasp.

"Try leaning forward a bit more and putting more of your weight on your hands and hip instead of your groin."

The sentence was said seriously, but Lucius couldn't help the devilish smirk that adorned his face.

"There you go. Now, try following me around for a bit. Do as I do." Harry began flying forward at a leisurely pace, looking back at Lucius to make sure the man wasn't as inept at flying as Hermione was. The veela had _said_ that he could fly, but that didn't _mean_ he could fly _anymore_.

* * *

It took nearly an hour for Lucius to regain his grace in the air, and by then the sun beating down upon them had caused both men to shed a layer of robes. Though the reveal of skin wasn't as much as Lucius had been hoping for, it was still a very tantalizing very of the young Gryffindor's sweat-glistening arm muscles.

_Mmm. Yummy._ The veela thought, before quickly squashing any more delicious images that might have arisen at the sight of his mate undressing.

"So!" The teen threw his robe on the ground carelessly –knowing Draco would be furious with him later and looking forward to the inevitable fight- as he turned to look at his blonde companion. "Are you ready to play an actual game now? Seeker on seeker?"

Lucius' mind drudged up some rather derogatory ways that he could look at that last question, but decided to squash that idea before the fantasies could even begin to form. Those would have to wait until later… after this match.

"I look forward to the challenge." Lucius remarked with a smile.

_I don't think it will be much of a challenge, but, hey, whatever._ He shrugged mentally. _What better thing do I have to do?_ The dark-haired wizard wondered idly to himself. His list of stimulating things to do was rather limited.

He'd already gone out riding.

Reading wasn't a stimulating activity in his book, no matter how interesting the book is.

He could always actually do his job and search the house, but that was by no means _fun_, unless, of course, he found some wonderful blackmail that he could hold over Draco's head and tease him mercilessly about.

That led to his last activity –torturing Draco. He didn't want to wear out the fun in torturing the little blonde, though, so he would do that later and do this now.

"Let the snitch go then." Harry responded after the blonde hadn't made a move. "What was the scribble on the ball again?"

"It's the signature of some famous Quidditch player your dad used to cheer for all the time." Lucius shrugged. "I don't remember who."

"Hmm." Harry murmured with a nod –showing that he had listened. "Let's go. Kick off on the count of five, and first one to find the snitch first wins."

"Wins what?" Lucius queried with a raised brow of interest.

"I don't know… they just win."

"Shouldn't we wager something? To make it interesting?"

"I'm not going to bet against you, Lucius."

"Why? Afraid to lose?" The cocky blonde questioned.

Harry's brows shot up under his black fringe of bangs that hung over his eyes in places of the uneven cut. The youth wasn't about to state the obvious of who was going to win this little match, or defend his reasons for not wanting to make a bet. He allowed there to be silence between them instead of anymore words. He wasn't going to say anything now, or when he won. Damaging Draco's pride had always been his goal. He had no thirst to conquer the elder Malfoy's pride as well. The dark-haired man's favorite virtuous saying was always, 'Respect thine elders.'. It was something he pretty much lived by –so… he said nothing.

"Five… four… three… two…"

Lucius could feel the anticipation building. It was an increase in his heart rate, a powerful bulge in his stomach of blossoming excitement. They would be going one-on-one now. The fun was about to begin.

"… one."

They both kicked off from the ground and soared off to high levels of the open field that could have been called a stadium or a Quidditch pitch if it had stands, or if it were more manicured, but it was merely a field with goals… nothing special.

Harry's eyes scanned the field lazily. He didn't want to find the snitch within the first five minutes if Lucius was suffering with this like he had before. Perhaps the older blonde was leading him on to believe that he sucked and it was merely a Malfoy ploy to win underhandedly, but harry kind of doubted that.

* * *

_There! There it is. _Harry thought as he made lazy circles with his broom around the ring. It was hovering very closely to the ground, as if observing the view from down below as well. It didn't seem to be wanting to move any time soon. Perhaps that was because it was an older ball. It took off like a rocket at the beginning, but after it found its station and had waited for a period of time, it became almost bored and sluggish –as if it just wanted to be caught so that the game could end finally.

Harry looked over to Lucius to see if the blonde was even looking in the general direction of the ball, but his eyes were on the other side of the field, combing the sky thoroughly.

The man would have to learn to go about his business differently. Seekers don't dissect the sky with their eyes for the snitch. They're looking for that specific sparkle somewhere in the sky, not looking for lint on a white fleece jacket.

_Oh well._ He shrugged as he decided he would go for the ball. He was beginning to get that feeling of sweating because of the workout, yet cold because of the harsh breeze and he didn't really want to be outside any more today.

* * *

Lucius casually looked back at his opponent with a sweet smile on his face. The Gryffindor looked rather lax and calm in the sky, as if he were completely at home a hundred feet in the air. He was winning the other man over. He could tell. It was in the little touches, the ways they conversed now, the amount of glaring that had gone down quite a bit… His veela side spiked happily with the knowledge that things were going to well recently.

Harry flew straight for a moment more before diving headlong toward the quickly approaching ground for the snitch.

Lucius cried out in fear for his mate. Why was he doing that? For a snitch? He'd never be able to pull up in time! His mate would be killed right before his eyes!

Thinking of nothing more than that, Lucius dropped his broom into nosedive as well.

As Harry neared the ground, he could feel more than see Lucius gaining on him doing the very same thing. The dark-haired wizard groaned. Lucius wouldn't be able to pull up from a dive like this, would he? The blonde had just relearned how to fly properly, how could he manage this dive? He decided he would pull up so the blonde wouldn't feel as if he _had_ to complete the stunt for some kind of pride or something. The snitch didn't mean all that much to him anyway. If Lucius wanted it, harry would gladly let the Slytherin win for the veela's pride to be sated.

Just as Harry was about to pull out of the dive, he felt a hand on his broom handle and a swift tug.

_Fuck! No!_ Was all Harry could think as the jerk caused the two brooms to collide in different angles, inevitably forcing Harry to crash roughly into Lucius, and both wizards to lose balance and fall. Harry threw his broom in another direction so it could in no way shatter into pieces and hurt him if fell on it –like he had that time in Quidditch practice that had earned him a six inch sliver that the media had thankfully never found out about.

The fifteen feet they had fallen was broken only by the plush grass and the random body parts of each other they had landed on.

After taking a moment to groan vocally and regain his wits, Harry rose from his position, half lying across Lucius, to glare at the blonde furiously.

"What the bloody hell did you think you were _doing_ out there!" The green-eyed man shouted angrily as he summed up his own bruises, and sore hip and wrist. Thankfully, nothing had been broken because he had mostly landed on the veela, but that didn't take away from the pain he felt all over his body from the landing. "You could have killed us _both_ with your insane feat of strength! What the hell was that? Why did you pull me off balance? Why did you dive at all!" His green eyes blazed with mountains of fury that were matched by the startled veela.

Lucius surmised that he hadn't been injured too badly except for his back, where he had landed first. He was surprised he hadn't broken it terribly. It was probably his veela magic keeping him virtually uninjured. He rose swiftly to glare back at the man he had just 'saved'.

"What on Earth were you doing! Diving straight to the ground at such fast speeds! You would never have been able to pull up from that. You could have been _killed_! Why did you do it? A snitch isn't worth risking your life, damn it! What were you trying to prove! Never do that again! Do you hear me!" The veela snapped back fiercely, hating that he had to shout at his mate, but wanting to get the message through the teen's head.

Harry eyes blazed with unconcealed fury. "_Fuck you_!" He hollered back with a great emphasis on both words. "I will not be told what to do! Surely not by the likes of you, and, for your information, I have done that same dive hundreds of times before; _professionally_. It may have _looked_ dangerous to you, but that's the point! It's _supposed_ to look _so_ dangerous that the audience gasps and that your opponent dares not to follow you! I've been doing that same dive since I was a _first_ year at Hogwarts! It's not dangerous because I know what I'm doing. It's only dangerous when idiots like _you_," He pointed rudely at the blonde, "try to interrupt the careful balance that's necessary to complete the bloody thing!" He growled, clenching his fists, as if he wanted to throw a punch at the veela.

"I don't care how many times you've done it before –it's too dangerous!" Lucius shouted back. "You don't have to do that dive to get the damn snitch!"

"I can do whatever I care to do and you can't do a goddamned thing about it!"

"You're my mate, and as long as you're with me, and even when you're not, you will do as I ask! Do you understand me? I won't have you going off and nearly getting yourself killed every chance you get!"

Harry's eyes narrowed to slits that any normal person would quiver before, but not Lucius. He was in his 'protective veela' mode, and wouldn't budge on the topic of Harry's safety.

"I don't belong to you, Malfoy, and I don't need your protection." He spoke in a deadly whisper as he glared daggers at the other man before him. "I am my own person, whether you happen to wish I was your mate or not."

Lucius was about to interrupt, but a sharp backhanded blow from Harry across his face, shocked him back to his senses.

"Don't you dare try and order me around like some slave. Trying to be amiable with you is not the same as declaring my love, or even having a _liking_ for you, so don't think too much of _anything _that has happened between us. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay a _very_ far distance away from me for the rest of the night, unless you want to be hit again."

With that said, Harry stalked off in the other direction –off the Quidditch field and back toward the manner, grabbing his broom and discarded robes as he went.

* * *

Lucius' mouth hung open as he watched Harry leave him. He had been controlling his urges of possessiveness so _well_ lately. How could he have just let that go so far? All he had wanted was to protect his mate, but… his mate didn't want to be protected… he probably didn't even want to be his mate…

_No! _Lucius wouldn't let himself think like that. It would lead to madness for him. He had to keep a level head and push his veela senses as far away as he could manage right then. He had to speak with Draco. His son knew the other boy better than he did; he could help, perhaps talk to Harry and make him see why Lucius had done what he'd done –whether it's been the wisest solution to that problem or not.

He set out to first bring his broom back to the shed, then find Draco and have that discussion his son had been speaking of a little earlier than planned.

* * *

Without thinking Harry yanked open the shed door to toss the broom back in, but when the sweet smell of juniper reached his nose, he paused his pace.

Wasn't the shed supposed to stink? It smelled lovely. Harry sniffed the air again and smiled. Such a sweet smell. He had always loved the smell of juniper. The house-elves must have come around after they had left the shed before. How wonderful!

For a moment, harry forgot his bad mood as he surveyed the extensive broom shed with several broom servicing kits brought to a higher degree. One side of the shed was dedicated to cleaning and repairing the brooms with a huge work station that ran the length of the wall with storage compartments above and below, along with large oil lamps hanging from the ceiling.

On the back wall, from ceiling to floor were racks of brooms, supported with three brackets each for the handle and one for the tail. There were about twenty brooms on the back wall. Fourteen Firebolts –he assumed so two teams could play a game of Quidditch together if they so desired- and six older brooms. Harry recognized the Nimbus Two Thousand from Draco's childhood, and the rest of the brooms looked like older models that Draco had probably been using since he was tall enough to mount a broom.

Harry smiled at that. Draco must have been _so_ spoilt by his parents. Thinking of Draco's parents, Harry scowled again, remembering the older blonde. He returned the broom to its place, glancing to the final wall as he was walking out. Several trunks sat against this wall –holding, what Harry assumed were, Quidditch balls.

On this wall Harry saw posters of several good Quidditch teams and some of the best players in the league, including Krum.

He remembered Krum somewhat fondly. He had played alongside the man for a month or two. They had been known as the unbeatable duo when Harry had played Beater and Krum had played Seeker, or vice versa. They had watched National Quidditch Champions shake on their brooms when faced with the duo.

Ah. Memories…

Thinking of Krum led to thinking of how much Ron had hated the man, and how much Hermione had liked him, which shifted his thinking to that note he still hadn't read from Hermione, so he left the shed and walked briskly toward the Manor –and hopefully some peace and quiet.

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A/N: You guys rock! Thanks for all the reviews! I wish I could have put this up sooner for you, but I had a bit of trouble writing it. I'm better at arguments that don't really matter rather than ones that do matter.

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**Fantastic reviewers! (This includes all of you!):**

**A-Brighter-Dawn:** Yeah, the tension between Lucius and Harry was fun to write, but I like writing Draco and Harry's arguments more. It's just such a hoot. If I had enough to write about, I'd make a story solely on that.

**Salena Jagonashi:** I _think_ I spelt that write. You make me smile every time you review and I look forward to reading said reviews. I'm glad you find me humorous, because otherwise what point would I have in life. I'm nothing if not a humorous pain in everyone's ass.

**Lionking:** I didn't mean to set the bar too high. I get about twenty reviews a chapter though, so I figured the reviews would come rather quickly and people like yourself would just say a word or two and (presto!) I update in less than a week. I would have updated again by next Monday anyway; it was just a goal to shoot for, you know?

**GothicAnn87:** Ha! You crack me up! Will Lucius and Harry get together before the end of the story! –ponders question- Promise not to tell anyone else? ….. Yes. I wouldn't torture you guys like that. This will probably be my longest fic… ever… Wow! I'm proud of myself actually. I have to go to an awards ceremony though, so I just thought I'd update quickly. I was debating whether I should write responses or not, but you guys took the time to write to me, so I should take the time to write back, right?

**Chocolatedemon:** Thanks! –blush- I appreciate your words. They brightened my day.

**Missy Gothika:** I have a friend named Missy! Sorry, just had to throw that one in there. Yes, I agree with you. There should be oodles more Lucius/Harry fics out there. The sad part is, there are a couple of really good ones, but the authors choose not to finish them or something. I've totally got an ending for this one, though, so I'm going _all_ the way!

**Emmy:** Thanks, Emmy. I heart you too. I was originally planning Hermione to be Draco's mate… I actually had everything planned out perfectly for it too, but several reviewers said they didn't want that pairing, so… I won't. I guess they saw through me before I could even make a mistake. If said reviewer weren't such an old loyal friend of mine, I might have gone a different route, so, sorry!

**Honeyduked:** Guess the Quidditch game didn't go quite as you had imagined, hmm? Thanks for reviewing. Your reviews encourage me to keep writing!

**Immortal Memories:** Hehe! Scheming veelas are fun to write! Draco's going to have to come to the rescue on this one, I think.

**Lilith:** I only meant that Lucius' b-day was on a special day. Harry isn't pissed at Lucius for killing his parents. That was Voldemort and it would be wrong of Harry to blame poor Lucius for that, when he wasn't even there. I remembered their deaths, but I looked at All Hallows Eve as more of a magical day, due to them being wizards, rather than looking at it as a mournful day. Give Harry something to celebrate on that day, you know?

**Lykaios Nyx:** You liked the scar scene too, hmm? That just popped into my head. I felt rather inspired in that moment because I know I like the touch over an old scar of mine too.

**ShatteredxDream:** Thanks for the compliments! I think they're quite the cute couple too!

**Marven:** As you can see, yes, both men were seekers in the game. I figured it would be easier than having one of them shooting and the other trying to block the goal, you know?

**Enchantrax:** Thanks! –blush- I'm glad you've been following it. It makes me feel proud that so many people like my stories after some of the flops I've had.

**Strega:** Why don't you become a member? It would save you from having to look for my updates… they would just come to you, you know? ---- I tried to make harry a very honest person. He's got nothing to be ashamed of and he can back up anything he says with his power. Why shouldn't he be honest? –chuckle- You liked the elf thing too, huh? Yeah, well I wrote a couple of random scenes for the future and I'm just connecting them all instead of making up a plot. Rather lazy of me actually… Anyway, one of them involved an elf, so I had to put that bit in there. Should I be revealing all my secrets? I'm really not that special of an author. Just lazy I suppose… well, not lazy than most because _I_ actually respond to my reviewers… anyway. Thanks for reviewing! I love you, Strega!

**Koogoo:** Yes. I didn't want Harry to just fall at Lucius' feet the moment he said he was a veela. The guy grew up. He's got barriers and he's not a child. He needs to think things through. Now that he knows he'll be able to live out the rest of his life, he wants to live it out in the best way possible. Lucius is the best thing for him… he just doesn't know it yet.

**Banii-chan:** Yes, I try to update every two weeks, so… I like to think that being consistent will encourage reviewers. I hope so anyway. –smile-

**Mistress Titania:** -blush- Thanks. I like to hope I can draw _some_ readers in. I know most probably head toward the better fics out there, but I figure if I write in the categories I love that have few stories, then I might get at least a few reviewers. It turned out people like the way I write… so that's an added bonus! I almost thought that it just mattered the topic of the fic, because I read a lot of fics that are badly worded and people review them like crazy. I figure it's just me. –shrugs-

**HecateDeMort:** I _am_ insane. That's what makes this an okay story, right?

**Poisoned Ink898:** I'm sorry it's moving slow. I can't help it really. It's all planned out and a bit of drama seems to have planned itself out before the romance kicks in. Sorry.

**Amy:** Ha! Yummy! Thanks! I'm thrilled you think so. I like chocolate cake too, so it's all good!

**Darkangel507:** I'm glad the plot became clear. I didn't really have a plot at first, it was just a bunch of random scenes that kind of formed into a story, but now it's got somewhat of a plot. Yeah, I also love the fights that I write for Draco and Harry! It makes everything fun, you know?

**Xikum:** I understand where you're coming from, in the sense that Harry does seem very drawn back from this whole affair. You have to remember though that he hasn't had loving contact from much of anyone his entire life. The only close call was Cho that we know about, and she wasn't much of a relationship, you know? So he's wary of everyone in that sense, yet he wants that love –he's just not ready to jump through hoops for something that might not really happen. He wants to make sure that he will love Lucius as much as the veela wants him. If he can't love Lucius, will it really be good for both of them to just get married and be done with it? They'd be miserable. He's pulling out a bit of the Slytherin side of himself before he goes jumping into it like a Gryffindor. He doesn't want his life controlled like he thinks Lucius will try to later, and he wants to be happy. If he can see that being with Lucius will be both of those things, then he's all for it, you know? Sorry. I'm ranting. I hope you keep reading to find out what happens though.

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A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews you guys! I don't think I'll be doing that again for a while though. I need to rest my poor brain. I've hardly slept lately because I had to update this, and I didn't want to disappoint you all because I _did_ promise you, so… maybe after another hundred or so reviews, after my life has calmed down again, hmm? **Thanks again!**


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Yeah, I know this is late, but… summer, you know? We're finally getting to the interesting parts so… I'm excited to get this out. **The plot thickens!**

**PLEASE READ THIS:**

I just wanted to add something quickly. A lot of you expressed a deep sadness for Lucius and that you felt very sorry for him. I have to admit that I was very happy that I caused this. Not in a sick way, but because simply this:

**My hope in my writing is that you will grow to be very loving and sad for Lucius. I am writing the story from his point of view, so I therefore hope that whatever I write about him and what he feels, is also what you feel for him. If Lucius is depressed over something, it is my sincere hope that I can portray that sadness in such a way that the readers also become depressed for Lucius/the character (whomever it may be). Being _able_ to actually portray these things to you and have you feel for Lucius makes his triumphs thrice as sweet because you feel a triumph when he does. If I can convey this to you, then I have succeeded as a writer. Thank you.

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Chapter 12

Draco rose from his seat in the ground floor study where he'd been working on his most recent Ministry project. He curled a stray hair behind his ear lazily, then stretched all of the kinks out of his sore back. Maybe Harry would consider giving him one of his famous backrubs… or maybe he could convince Harry to give his father one! There's another idea!

He scribbled it down on a small list he had made for himself on such epiphanies, then stuffed the paper back in his pocket and rubbed at his left shoulder as he exited the study for the cooler hall.

The second he stepped out into the hall, he felt a flare of power and knew that Harry was close to the Manor, and that he was excited about something. Whether he was angry or happy –Draco couldn't tell; just that his power was enlivened and flaring.

Harry suddenly burst through the back entrance and down the smaller hallway that led to the main one where Draco stood –his eyes slightly wider with worry because of Harry's, now obvious, anger.

"Harry." Draco called, bringing the other man out of his scowl and back to the present time.

"Draco." Harry replied in a murmur. "Shoulder hurting again?" He queried as his power calmed dramatically from where it'd been.

"A bit." Draco answered, trying not to make Harry feel guilty again. That damn Gryffindor wouldn't give up on the ache of Draco's shoulder. It was a soft spot between the two Seekers.

On the following game after Harry and Draco had made a tentative truce in school, Draco had decided to play fairly. The game had been the best that either boy could remember having together, until the end.

Draco had been just about to grasp the snitch when a Bludger had pounded directly into the joint of his left shoulder blade. The blow had knocked him off his broom –though one of his teammates had caught him before he hit the ground. Harry had refused to catch the snitch and the game had been called a draw because Draco couldn't finish and Harry refused to finish. Harry felt guilty because he felt he'd had enough time to warn Draco of the oncoming blow, but he hadn't. Draco on the other hand didn't blame him at all, and only blamed himself for not concentrating on his surroundings as well as the snitch, but he understood –in some small way- what the Gryffindor considered to be his fault, though he didn't blame him.

"How did the fly go?" Draco queried with a raised brow as he looked the sweaty Potter over.

"It sucked." Harry snapped with a scowl.

"Why?" The blonde asked calmly.

"I went into a dive to get the damn snitch and you _father_-"

_That's not good._ Draco thought with a cringe. _He's not even trying to refer to him by his name. It must have been bad._

"- dove down after me, thinking I was trying to kill myself or something."

"You're exaggerating." Draco murmured.

"Am I?" Harry responded animatedly.

The veela thought about his father, and how the situation must have looked for the blonde to interfere like that. "I suppose not." He mumbled. "You just make it sound worse."

"Oh, it gets worse." Harry snapped with a growl. "I didn't think he'd be able to pull out of the dive, so just as he we were getting close to the ground, I decided to pull up early so he wouldn't have to worry about looking embarrassed if he couldn't pull the dive off. The man _grabbed hold_ of my broom, causing us both to topple off-balance, banging into each other and falling to the ground in a heap!"

The blonde tried to hide his cringe as he imagined how painful the fall must have been for both men.

"Not only all that…" Harry went on, causing Draco to fear what else his father could have done, "… he _then_ has the _audacity_ to claim that it was _my_ fault, and that I should _never_ have tried such a move. He said that as long as I was _his_ mate, I wouldn't be doing such things." The man finished his rant with a hand mounted on his hip. He had blown off some of the steam, but saying it aloud just made him think about how pissed off the whole scene made him.

"Harry, calm down, now." Draco ordered as he massaged his brow tiredly. He needed a nap, perhaps. None of the stress could be healthy for any of them, especially his father.

The black-haired man was about to protest in a childish way, when he caught himself and took in a deep breath before releasing it.

"Father surely didn't have the intention of crashing into you. I'm sure he imagined he could pull you out of the dive and bring you to safety, but it went wrong in his haze of worry." The veela explained.

Harry nodded once tartly. "Sure."

"I know how much that must have ticked you off because it seemed so uncalled for, but let me put it to you this way; and please don't take offense to this."

He nodded again.

"Okay, now, keep an open mind for me." Draco demanded with a frown. Again, another nod. "Imagine that you are the father of an only child. Your little girl has just gotten his first broom and asks you to go out flying with her. You're thrilled because she didn't ask her friends to fly with her; she asked _you_. It makes you feel special, and proud, and loving. You two go out flying, and suddenly she tries a trick, but it goes wrong and you dive down quickly and catch her before she can hit the ground. Now imagine what you would say to her. 'I can't believe you tried such a stunt. You're my daughter and as long as you are living here, you will do as I say. Promise me you will never do that stunt again.' Etc., etc." Draco gestured with his hand and though Harry was frowning in thought, the veela could tell that he understood now. "You know I mean this not as a child, but as him not wanting you hurt, and he is a father, and a veela, so that makes him very protective. He cares for you, and would die if he saw you get hurt and he could have prevented it. No matter how old you are, Harry, he's not looking at this as if you we two. He's looking at this as –you're his mate, and he can't experience life without you, so if he has to be stern to get his point across, he will be."

Harry sighed with a strained nod, then he shook his head with a growl. "I don't like it."

"I know." Draco nodded once. "You don't want to be controlled. You want to be free of everything that keeps you from your desires. You don't like restrictions. You're a rule-breaker. Just… please… understand that he doesn't want to see you hurt. Just, be a little less… you, this week."

The blonde didn't beg often, so Harry nodded in resignation. 'A little less him…' That meant to be careful. Boring.

_Fine._ He thought to himself. _This once._

"I'm going to my room." Harry mumbled. "Thanks for listening."

"It's fine." The veela responded with a small smile. Anything he could do to help his father and Harry get together was worth his time, in his opinion.

With a last nod to himself, Harry made his way through another side passageway and up a different less-used staircase to the corridor that led to his rooms.

Draco sighed as he watched Harry go. Hopefully _that_ catastrophe had been averted, but he wasn't sure. He supposed they would all find out the next time Lucius and Harry interacted –perhaps at dinner.

After a small walk around ground level of the Manor, Draco returned to the study he'd been working in and plopped down onto the rather comfortable chaise lounge adjacent to his work area. He sighed heavily as he settled into the comfortable cushions.

Maybe he could take that nap now…

Just as Draco had laid his head down for a second and begun to doze off, his dreams of a nap were shattered by company.

"Draco!" His father called.

Said-veela growled deeply in frustration. He wondered vaguely if his father would want a long discussion now, or if he would be able to wait until later.

"Answer me, Draco!" Came his harsh answer.

With a groan, Draco sat unsteadily up. "In here, Father."

* * *

As Harry opened his door, he was startled by the flurry of movement in the room. He hadn't noticed it because he'd been lost in his thoughts, but now he could plainly hear the fighting that was occurring before him. Two owls were clawing nastily at each other in a quite undignified manner.

"Hedwig!" He cried out as he realized his owl was in on this ruckus. With the skill of a trained Seeker, he snatched Hedwig from the air before the other owl could do anymore damage to her, or vice versa. Once Harry had calmed Hedwig into silence, he noticed a cat sitting on his open window sill. Minx, the calico outdoors cat Harry had delivered to Draco for his mouse problem, had often been one to visit him whenever he came to the Manor, but it seemed she had been intrigued with the owl fight and decided to climb up the house to his window to be a spectator of the destruction, or perhaps she had anticipated a free snack if one of the owls lost badly.

Before approaching this new blackish/brown owl, Harry made doubly sure that Hedwig was unharmed in any serious way, then he put her near her cage and turned on the new owl.

_Ah! A Ministry owl._ Harry realized with a scowl. What the hell did they want now?

He reached for the owl, but when it tried to nip at him, he swatted at its beak in a warning.

"I'm not in the mood to quarrel with you." He snapped. "You know you'd lose if you tried anyway."

The owl fluffed indignantly and stuck out its foot, obviously wanting nothing more to do with the wizard.

Harry took the note and the owl was off quickly without a parting look. The wizard ripped the envelope open and scanned the parchment over.

The Ministry was wondering how his search was going.

He penned a response –basically saying that he would be complete with his entire search within the week, and that, as of yet, he hadn't found any incriminating evidence against Malfoy junior. After finishing the note, he moved to Hedwig.

"Do you think you're up to a travel to the Ministry?" He questioned her, knowing she was still pissed about the other hostile bird trying to intrude on her territory.

She nodded vaguely, then waited for him to tie the message to her leg before she took off out the window.

Harry then turned to Minx as he sat on the bed with a sigh. "How has it been going? Are you going hungry yet? No. Of course not. You're smarter than that. You wouldn't just kill off all the mice. That would leave you starving." He commented sarcastically –as if he had given the cat that warning beforehand- though he knew she looked a bit thin. He smiled knowingly. "If you just wait for the mice to come back, then you could let them get a sense of security and start your killing again. Until then, I'll leave food in here for you as long as you don't bother Hedwig." He reasoned. Minx seemed to understand well enough as she jumped down and rubbed herself against her master's leg in thanks.

_The note!_ Harry thought as he suddenly pulled the parchment from his pocket and opened Hermione's letter.

Hermione asked about the usual things. How was he? Was he eating correctly? Was Malfoy pissing him off lately? Was work bothering him whilst he was supposedly 'searching' the Malfoy estates? (_She knows my problems so well._ He thought idly.) Then she went off in a paragraph of her sixth sense worrying. She normally kept most of this woman's intuition to herself unless they were together and he was telling her of his plans. She would sometimes say, "I have a bad feeling about that. Don't do it." He would consider going against her wishes, but always ended up deciding it was better to not worry her and that usually ended up being to his benefit. She didn't normally write these things in letters to him. This had to be serious.

He chewed at his thumbnail as he pondered all the things that could be happening. Maybe she had been thinking about Lucius and how he had been injured in the fall earlier. He _had_, after all, received the letter before the flying session. Perhaps she was thinking of some other occasion that had yet to happen. One thing Harry was certain of was that it included Malfoy senior.

All those things aside, Harry decided it would probably be in his best interest to take a day to visit Hermione. Draco might even want to accompany him for the little venture. They would take the motorcycle so Harry wouldn't have to apparate or floo. If he really laid into Draco, he could convince the man to ride with him instead of apparating so he could have some company for the long ride.

With that all decided, Harry sat at his desk quickly to write a letter to Hermione saying that they would talk more of her worries when he came to visit her. He then wrote a post-script at the bottom, asking if he could drag Draco along to visit her, and when they could visit that would be convenient.

After sealing the letter, Harry set it aside near the owl cage for whenever Hedwig returned.

_Now…_ He thought tiredly as he moved to his bed. _Perhaps a bit of rest before I have to confront Malfoy again. I'll need to be in a decent frame of mind or I might blow up at him… again.

* * *

_

"Calm down!" Draco demanded before his father could even start to rant on with anxiety. After he had his father's attention, he lowered his voice again. "Calm down." He whispered gently. "Harry's already come through here, and I've calmed him down. He understands what happened. He went up to his room, I believe."

Lucius took a moment to digest this. How did Draco know what happened if Lucius hadn't told him? Sure Harry had already spoken his side of the story, but did 'his side' explain Lucius well enough for Draco not to blame him for everything? Would the Gryffindor really explain things so fairly? It brought a flutter to his heart, allowing him to calm considerably so that Draco could speak to him more easily.

"Was he angry?" He asked simply, trying to reign in his worry.

"Of course!" Draco snapped with a sneer. "I'd be angry if you caused me to fall off my broom too!" He let out a sharp laugh. "I explained, however, that you were trying to look out for him, and you were merely overly worried. I think everything's settled, Father. All you need to do is have some kind of conversation with him to break the ice again, you understand?"

Lucius stoically pondered this for a moment. "When?" He asked firmly, as if set in his goal.

"I don't know!" Draco snapped, then covered his mouth with an aristocratic hand and brought his eyes to the ground without seeming shy –merely showing his respect to his father, and admitting he had spoken out of cue. "I'm sorry." He murmured.

Lucius scowled, then nodded. "It's frustrating. I'm putting a lot of pressure on you. It's coming from both sides because you're his friend, yet you're my son in the same moment and you must help both without favoring one over the other."

"This is in both of your best interests." Draco told him father –his aristocratic nature returning with confidence and cool eyes back in place as he stared levelly into his father's eyes. "I know that once you both are together, you will be the most happy people anywhere. It is only a matter of time." This phrase also happened to spark a memory within Draco, that caused his eyes to widen slightly.

"Yes. Time. Good thing he stays here with you for so long, or I wouldn't be able to manage starting this."

"Eh." Draco cleared his throat and Lucius looked up to him fearfully.

"What!" He asked. He couldn't take any more of these surprises.

"Remember how I asked to speak with you earlier?"

A nod.

"Well, I'm about to tell you why." He breathed in and let it out, trying to keep himself calm as he gestured for his father to sit. Both did. "I'm just going to get to the point. This morning whilst Harry and I were eating after our ride, we spoke of plans, etceteras. He mentioned a mission that he must leave on in two months." Lucius swallowed heavily, his eyes darting from here to there minutely as he thought about how he could woo his mate that quickly. Usually this kind of thing took months, perhaps even a year at fullest. Purebloods had a methodical way to go about wooing their intended. It was a process much more longwinded than the Muggle way of flowers and candy, and required more flare –including dowries and gifts of sizable proportions. "There's more."

Lucius perked up to bring himself back to his son's words.

"He declared that he wanted about a month to himself, so he'll only be staying here for a week, perhaps two."

Lucius frowned and suddenly felt the urge to bite his nails as he once had when he was younger, but he fought off the desire easily. "How long will he be away?" The blonde asked with a groan of resignation.

"A year."

The blonde nearly cried out in pain right there. How could his mate do this to him! How could Fate be so cruel to separate him from his mate, yet again! He needed more time! Was this a test of his devotion? Was this some sick joke? If he killed all the Department Heads at Harry's work, would the teen still have to leave for a year?

As these things spun through the older blonde's head, he slumped forward –his elbows resting on his knees. After resolving himself to be strong, the veela sat back up and glared strongly back to his son. The power of that gaze and the determination of it made Draco quiver with fear and relief. His father wasn't giving in! He was going to fight with everything he had! This was the man that Draco had known his whole life. This was the man he loved! His father wouldn't give in so easily. No. Never. Malfoys don't give up! Malfoys get what they want… always.

* * *

Three hours later, as the sky was starting to darken for nighttime, yet still showed a beautiful array of lights against the clouds, Lucius wandered the halls from his rooms.

He had rested and thought more about how he would speak to Harry when he next saw the youth. He hated to admit it, but curiosity was getting the better of him in the sense that he desired greatly to speak of what Harry had done in the year that he'd been absent, especially those months that Draco couldn't track him.

After walking his halls several times and making his way through the entire wing twice, he made his parting insults to his aunt's portrait and made his way down to the first floor where his favorite balcony and sitting room were located.

Upon approaching the room, he realized it was already occupied by someone. Perhaps Draco had taken up a liking for the space just as his father had.

To Lucius' surprise, when he reached the door that was slightly ajar and opened it, it was Harry he found, not Draco. The room was a wonderful temperature that was perfect for relaxing one's worries away and meditating on one's actions. The blonde had done such things many times before because there was such a great view of the garden from this room, but now his gaze was fixed on the gorgeous figure sitting in the window chair elegantly.

"May I join you?" Lucius queried with a voice just loud enough to be heard without disturbing the youth's thoughts.

Harry turned his gaze from the large clear glass-paned window to the veela at the door. "Sure." He mumbled before turning back to the window and the view –probably to his thoughts as well. He wore loose cloth pants and a loose T-shirt –as if he had recently changed for rest and decided that he needed to think elsewhere.

Upon being accepted as company, Lucius brought himself to sit in a fine brown-leather chair a short distance from the window seat, yet at an angle to the fireplace that would keep the teen from thinking that he was staring –which he was.

The blonde waited for a long moment for the silence to pass onto something more comfortable. How was it, that in such a comfortable room he could be so uncomfortable with the silence that he usually rejoiced in?

"Harry," Lucius called softly, breaking through the silence bravely, "where were you for those few months after you graduated? No one seems to know where you were. Not even your closest friends."

_I suppose you asked my friends where I was then?_ Harry snorted with dry humor at his own thought. Of course not. The blonde wouldn't stoop so low. It was most likely hearsay.

The dark-haired man's glare tightened on Lucius as he sat there with his arm draped over the back of the chair and his legs crossed.

"You mean to say," Harry began, "that _Draco_ couldn't discover where I'd been, so I obviously _must_ have dropped off the face of the earth?" He retorted sharply and Lucius flinched. The youth bit his lip to stop the angry words. He was still sore over the actions of earlier and it was bad form to take it out on Lucius now. He decided to be nicer, as he stared off out the opened balcony window. "I _suppose_ I should tell you." He murmured to himself. "It would only be polite of me… After all you did speak so much about yourself and quell so many of my discrepancies. Alright." He turned his gaze back to Lucius as he decided his thoughts aloud. "No, I was far from dropping off the edge of the earth. I left school and I realized I needed… something. It didn't take me long to realize that there was something missing from my life. It was something big, but I couldn't seem quite to be able to grasp it." He paused with his fist clenched in his lap as he remembered his turmoil. "The answer came to me one day in the form of a letter. It was from… an old friend. I had thought he was… dead. I was surprised –to say the least- when I received a letter from him. He'd said that he had read some rather troubling things in the _Daily Prophet_ and he wanted to meet me and make sure I was alright. I agreed of course, but I told him to be quiet about my coming. I knew he wouldn't say anything, but I feared I had to warn him all the same. It took me a mere week to make preparation, then I merely packed a small bag of things and I was gone." He looked into Lucius' powerful eyes and could have laughed at seeing the jealousy building toward the individual he was speaking of.

_How stupid._ He thought sadly.

"Who?" Lucius asked bluntly.

"Who, what?" Harry countered coyly.

"Don't get wily with me, Harry." Lucius warned as a frown creased his brow. He was trying to hold in his fury, but it didn't seem to work at all. All of his self-restraint had been exercised over the past year and there was no more for him to work with any longer.

"You're going to ruin this day of ours together if you get angry." Harry warned, suddenly quite somber.

"Tell me." Lucius lowered his voice and softened his face drastically. His face pleaded with Harry.

Harry sneered for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and hardened his features to the veela before him. This hurt Lucius more than anything before then. He leaned back with a hurt look crossing his face as he watched Harry's anger bloom.

"I needed someone older. Someone who could understand me and treat me like an adult instead of a child. I didn't want to be coddled, or glorified for my fame. I just wanted to be loved." Harry's eyes softened as he looked out the window again.

Lucius couldn't help feel that _he_ could have been all of those things, but he didn't need any words from Harry to tell him why he had chosen someone else. Lucius had been in prison. How could a relationship have survived between them? How could Lucius have survived through the days without Harry by his side if they had started a relationship? It was all for the better that it happened this way. At least _now_ he had Harry.

Even though it was day, an image of the moon still hung in the sky, seeming to catch Harry's gaze. "You knew him." Harry told Lucius. "You went to school with him." He sounded detached.

"Who did you sleep with?" He finally asked in exasperation, trying to hide the pain from his words at the thought of his mate with someone else. Kissing someone else… inside of someone else, or someone else inside… him. That thought tore at him terribly. Was Harry a virgin any longer? Had someone defiled his mate? He would kill them! _Who_? Who _dared_!

Harry looked over to him with raised brows and amused eyes. "Sleep with?" He repeated. "I went _away_ with him, but we didn't sleep together."

Suddenly, it was like his shoulder blades had shifted and a huge weight was lifting from his tortured mind and body. Harry hadn't slept with this man? Why was he so nostalgic about him then?

"Remus." Harry answered his questioning gaze. "Remus and I traveled to the Elves' homeland." He again gazed sadly up at the moon. "That was the favor that I had called in from them. I stayed there with Remus until he died a few months later, so he could be happy in a place he wouldn't be spit upon for living."

Lucius felt like such a heel! How horrible of him! When Harry had been speaking of someone to love him, he'd meant a father-figure. He wanted that love from Sirius, but then his godfather died (or was killed, more like), and when Harry found out his last link to his real father –Remus- was dying, he had to go away with him, somewhere where no one could find them, or hurt Remus. Somewhere, where Remus could die peacefully and happily.

"I'm going to go get ready for dinner." Harry announced as he stood after one last glance at the moon.

Lucius stood as well and took a tentative step toward Harry. "I'm sorry for my assumption, and my impertinence." The veela apologized.

Harry nodded several times without looking the taller man in the eye. "Yeah. I guess I can see how you would assume that, but Remus… I loved him, but not that much… not that way. I wish life had been different for him. I wish he could have been happy with a mate instead of living through almost every full moon without anyone by his side. He was such a strong person."

For a moment, Lucius worried that Harry would begin to cry, but it was good that Harry was getting this off his chest… and to _him_! Harry was speaking of such things to him! Perhaps all was not lost. With that burst of courage, Lucius began to reach out to touch Harry's shoulder when the teen suddenly moved around him with a sniffle and a wipe of his nose –seemingly never even noticing the hand that had been about to touch his other shoulder.

Harry walked to the door and exited silently without touching the door and Lucius sighed sadly.

Almost.

"Lucius." Harry murmured, causing the blonde to spin –his hair flying gracefully over each shoulder as he moved and stopped to gaze at the slightly distraught yet smiling man at the door. "Eh, uh, thanks… for listening… even if you did mix up what I meant…"

Without another word the man was gone again, but Lucius could've jumped with joy.

He quickly erected a silencing charm around the room and shut the door before putting a small warding charm on it and calmly walking back to the center of the room and jumping up and down quickly.

"_Yes!_" He shouted enthusiastically. "_Yes!_" He squealed in a very un-Malfoy-like way before calming himself to put the mask back up, removing his spells, and calmly exiting the room with his usual grace.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all like what I've done with this! I'm excited about the upcoming chapters and looking forward to writing them!

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**Fabulous cyber-friends who comment so graciously:**

**HecateDeMort:** How's summer treating you? It's making me more insane than I already am. Hope you enjoy my craziness!

**Chocolatedemon:** Thanks about that. I don't know how, but this story just ended up being slow-paced. I know some people (including me at times) don't like slow-moving stories, but the development needs to happen and whenever the author's pressured into moving faster the story turns to crap, so… I'm being stubborn and slow. –chuckle- Glad you don't hate me for it! Thankie!

**Sakura91:** I'm glad you like the story so far. It's definitely going along well, I think. Sweetness in this chappie, a bit of angst in the next. I don't like using that word though… angst. I like saying drama, so that's what I'll say. –smile-

**Strega:** Yes, I thought the same as well. Why should Harry by a whimpering mess when he gets yelled at by Lucius? He's an Auror and faced down freakin-Voldemort! He should be able to stand up to Lucius… at least for now because he isn't exactly emotionally attached yet. That might change a bit later, but not too much.

**Cricketpoor:** There is definite fluff in here. It's just more toward the end because conflict leads to make-up sessions, you know? My hope in my writing is that you will grow to be very loving and sad for Lucius. I am writing the story from his point of view, so I therefore hope that whatever I write about him and what he feels, is also what you feel for him. If Lucius is depressed over something, it is my sincere hope that I can portray that sadness in such a way that the readers also become depressed for Lucius/the character (whomever it may be). Thank you for your encouragement.

**Amy:** Thank you! I'm thrilled that you think this fic is so much fun. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.

**Missy Gothika:** Ack! AFF? I tried reading through stuff there, but it was _so_ hard to go through the categories that I gave up. seems so much simpler that I think I'll just stick to what little they allow. Nice nickname… I don't know how your friends came up with it either. –smile-

**Acr:** -smile- Lucius is pulling through. He's a smart Slytherin. He can work through his dilemmas. Have faith.

**GreyGanian:** Thank you! I'm glad you like it. I aim to please, of course!

**Lykaios Nyx:** You liked the Quidditch game? It was like my first attempt. –blushes- Thanks. I didn't know what to think of it, and you're the only person that commented on the match instead of the fight. –chuckle- And Krum too. I wanted to incorporate more of the actual story into this one so it would seem more plausible.

**Bunny:** About your suggestion… believe it or not, there is a scene like that definitely coming up somewhere in the near future. A few chapters from now actually… but it's actually part of the plot –whether you believe that, I can't tell, but it's true.

**GothicAnn87:** -hugs gothicann back- I'm thrilled I could make you so happy! Thank you. Yes, you're right. There's nothing wrong with being insane. I should let out a bit more insaneness. I might scare some of the younger ones away though.

**Honeyduked:** I'm thrilled that you can wait for my plot to unfold. I really don't want to rush this. It's coming along nicely though… I think so anyway, but you aren't on this side of the fence, so you don't know how the plot is unfolding except to what is shown to you. It kind of makes me feel evil. –smile-

**Immortal Memories:** -snicker- You're such a hoot.

**Hpfan-JLM:** I first have to say that _you_ absolutely made my morning! My dog ate my purse and there were pieces all over the place, and I was _so_ pissed, then I saw your review and I decided to update. You made my day for sure. And, yes, it will be an excellent argument when they finally get down to whether or not to get together and Harry mentions not having children and Lucius argues the opposite. –silence- It should prove fun to write!

* * *

A/N: Review at your leisure. It will take me a while to write the next chapter because of work (I work four days a week in a construction job), but hopefully it will be out before July. We can hope, but I think my due date will be July Fourth in celebration of America's stupid special holiday that no one else cares about! Yah! Fireworks and food! 


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY SO I MADE THIS CHAPTER **REALLY** LONG TO CELEBRATE!

* * *

Chapter 13

Half an hour later as Harry was just arriving in his room again, Hermione's owl flew in through open window and onto his bed.

"Hello there." Harry greeted, trying to shake off the odd experience he'd just had with Lucius. He looked around, but couldn't find Hedwig. After untying the letter from the owl, the bird jumped to Hedwig's perch began drinking her water and eating her food.

_He must be tired. I'm sure Hedwig won't mind **too**__much._ He reasoned as he opened the envelope.

He quickly scanned the letter and smiled broadly. He had to find Draco.

Where would the blonde be?

He quickly called a house-elf and questioned the being.

The Ground Floor study. Of course. It would have to be as far away from him as humanly possible. He growled as he took off in search of the young blonde.

Just as he rounded the last hallway and went down a short few steps to another landing, he bumped right into his target.

"Dra-" He cut himself off as he realized he'd bumped into the wrong blonde. "Oh, sorry, Lucius."

Lucius smiled broadly at him, his hand on the shorter wizard's strong shoulder for balance. "No worries." He whispered back into Harry's ear.

"Er, yeah." Harry stepped back, a little startled by the sudden closeness and whispering. "I, uh, have to find Draco." He took off in the direction he'd been going and didn't turn back around until he'd reach the next staircase. "Night!" he called behind him, but didn't see the hurt expression Lucius had worn just a moment before.

"Night." The blonde called softly after him. "Damn it." He groaned as he started in the other direction toward his room. He'd hoped to go to Harry's room and wish him a good night without it being so awkward, but that plan had failed miserably.

_Maybe tomorrow._ He thought with a sigh.

* * *

"Draco!" Harry called out as he entered the study with a slam of the door.

The blonde flinched from the magnitude of the suddenly noisy room and glared at Harry.

"What, Potter?" He snapped agitatedly.

"Someone's in a bad mood." Harry replied as he cautiously approached the irate man.

Draco groaned as he ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. "Work." He answered as he placed his quill down gently and turned from his large stack of papers to look up at Harry.

"Did you need something?"

"This isn't about what I need," Harry began with a smile, "it's about what _you_ need."

No one had said _that_ to Draco in a… actually… no one had _ever_ said that to Draco. "What's the catch, I need to get back to work?"

"Exactly wrong!" Harry exclaimed and could see the blonde was getting very frustrated with him. "Hermione has invited us over for a day of relaxation tomorrow."

"Us?" Draco queried with a raised brow. "You mean, _you_?"

"No, I invited myself over to her place and I asked if you could come, besides, you need some time off from work and arguing with 'Mione will put the color back in your cheeks.

Draco snickered tiredly. "If I say yes will you leave me alone."

"Yes."

"Fine then. It's settled. What time?"

"We'll leave after breakfast." Harry instructed.

"Apparition I assume." He murmured as he rubbed his temple.

"No, my bike." Harry told him.

Draco glared up at the other wizard. "No way. I don't trust your driving."

"Draco, we're wizards. We aren't going to crash, and besides, you could use the fresh air. Too much Apparition isn't good for a person."

"Says who? Certainly not any of my Apparition instructors."

Harry smirked. "Just do this, for me?"

Draco growled as Harry gave him the puppy-dog-eyes look. "Fine." He conceded and Harry calmly nodded and left the room rather smugly.

"Oh, Great Merlin, I hope I don't regret this." He mumbled to himself as he called a house-elf to him and told it to tell his father about his plans with Harry the next day.

The elf returned with the message that Lucius now knew and was okay with it.

Draco stood as he glared at his paperwork before stretching and deciding to call it a night. Maybe Harry _was_ right. Maybe he needed a day off to himself.

Before Draco could leave the room an owl began tapping against his window mercilessly. It was a Ministry owl.

_Damn._ Draco grumbled as he went over to the window to let the bad news in.

* * *

"I have to leave." Draco announced as he stalked into the dining room for breakfast. Lucius' eyes snapped up from the page of the _Daily Prophet_ he had been reading. His son was looking at him with a defeated stare, as if he knew this would be uncomfortable for his father and Harry, but with things on a tighter schedule now, he also knew Lucius would have to start working some magic –no pun intended- soon.

Harry finished a bite of toast and the paragraph he was reading from the book beside his plate on Charms before looking pleasantly up to Draco with a small smile forming.

"Where to?" He asked gently.

Draco couldn't help the small quirk that came to his lips at seeing Harry so oblivious and kind, even after recent events.

"I'm off to the Romanian Ministry to retrieve reports and files. Apparently there was some kind of fire there, and in an effort to save what files they could, several were water-logged and many ruined. They suspect foul play, of course, but no one knows why. Anyway, because of all the important documents there that were nearly destroyed, they had extended a rather large shield around the area, keeping people from Apparating anywhere close to the Ministry up there. Meaning, to retrieve the documents I must get there the old fashioned way." He groaned as he seated himself with a thump and drank some water greedily down his parched throat.

"Why you?" Lucius asked concernedly.

"Let me guess." Harry interrupted as his eyes swept over the ceiling in mock-thought. Draco anticipated a great deal of sarcasm about to come from his friend as he smirked inwardly toward Harry. "They _told_ you, that you were the _only_ one they could trust with such _important_ documents?" He guessed with a raised brow. The younger blonde nodded for him to go on. "Okay, now the real reason." His eyes didn't have to check the ceiling for wording this time. "No one else wanted to walk that far, or was either too tired, on vacation, or unwilling to deal with the Romanians?"

Draco nodded again with a sad smile. "That about sums it up." He looked at the food on the table and couldn't bring himself to actually eat any of it. "I have to leave today, so pardon my rather agitated and irritated mood." He apologized with a huff as his gaze traveled to Harry again.

Harry smiled sympathetically. "Are you going to leave from Hermione's place?"

"Yes. I'll have to cut our visit a bit short. You can stay, but I must get moving by noon, so… we should leave soon." He mumbled as he glanced at the grandfather clock on one side of the dining room.

The green-eyed man smiled in a way to show that he wasn't upset with Draco for having to leave early.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Draco wondered as he gazed at the other teen's book curiously –trying to change the subject.

"Remember how Seamus Finnegan was dead-set on turning water to wine, so to speak?" Harry responded with a smirk.

The younger blonde raised an eyebrow in query and nodded vaguely as memories came back to him of their school days.

"Well, I finally figured it out." Harry closed the tiny leather book he had been consulting on Charms with a small section on wandless magic. "I used to think I needed to know the spell for what I needed to do before I could actually do it, but I caught myself doing some things without even thinking of the spell. I didn't think about it until I read this book though. According to this book, very powerful wizards merely have to think of what they desire; no spell is necessary." Harry gestured with his right hand as he spoke.

Draco frowned slightly. He could do wandless magic, but couldn't always modulate how much power went in to each spell, so he chose not to do it unless he had to. He gestured for Harry to give it a try.

Had Harry been with any of his other friends he wouldn't have phrased his words quite like that. He didn't like calling himself a very powerful wizard in front of them, even if they thought of him as so. Around Draco he felt much more at ease, and of course Lucius knew of his powers, but he didn't really care what Lucius thought of him anyway. If the man thought he was arrogant, then, oh well. Both blondes could do wandless magic to the best of Harry's knowledge, anyway, so there was no point in changing his wording because both blondes were on the same level as he considered himself to be.

"Rum?" Harry asked.

"Yuck." Both blondes answered in unison, causing Harry to snort lightly in amusement.

"Wine, please." Draco added.

Harry whispered '_Wingardium Leviosa_', and glared at the pitcher of water with a quirk to his brow as he watched it pour him water into his empty goblet. He then waved the pitcher back into place and moved his hand over the goblet again. The smell of grapes floated through the room to Lucius and Draco's surprise. Harry handed the glass to Draco, who raised his brow in wonder.

"You honestly think that _I_ am a good judge of _wine_!" Harry questioned.

The younger veela realized how correct Harry was and sighed in resignation as he took the goblet, smelled the concoction as he swirled it gently, then tentatively took a sip before promptly spitting it out to the side of the table facing away from his company.

"_Too sour_." He ground out hoarsely, his voice barely definable.

Harry burst out into laughter and Lucius smiled, trying to fight his own laughter as well. The wine had smelled good enough, but apparently that wasn't the case. Most likely because it was fresh wine and hadn't been sitting around the hundreds of years like Draco was used to.

"Can you change it back?" Draco questioned with interest as he dabbed his mouth with his napkin and took a swig of pumpkin juice to wash away the nasty flavor of the wine.

Harry laughed a bit longer, trying to speak through his snickering. "Would you honestly want to test _water_ that I've recreated after trying my sour wine? I think I'll leave this little revelation of mine at the bottom of some closet. It's a cute idea, but merely a parlor trick. Who would honestly be desperate enough for wine that they'd want to attempt this?"

"Agreed." Lucius added softly with a warm smile. Harry locked eyes with him for a tense moment and Draco wondered if Harry would start something with his father about entering the conversation.

Inwardly, Lucius felt horrible that his mate didn't want him to say _anything_ around him at all, and he had originally been hesitant to speak anyway, not wanting to ruin the mood, but it appeared as if his attempt had failed. Outwardly, the veela showed no emotion other than tire.

Not knowing what to say, or how to say anything now that their gazes were locked, Harry merely shrugged and looked back down to his book. He had almost forgot the Lucius was there, but was startled when the man had spoken so softly.

Lucius knew that Harry could relate to Draco, but not to such an old man… Draco's _father_ for Merlin's sake! Lucius felt every bit of his age right then.

_Damn me for speaking!_ He thought hatefully. He then stood and excused himself quietly.

After he had left the room and was out of hearing range, Draco turned to speak with Harry and found him looking back with depressed eyes.

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered to him and Draco couldn't bring himself to reprimand Harry for his rudeness. "I didn't mean to make him feel unwelcome; I was just… looking at him and… he looked back." He shrugged, looking away from Draco's heavy gaze. "Maybe I should just leave."

Draco's immediate response was to cry out 'No!', but he knew he couldn't do that. He had to be nonchalant. He was a Malfoy, after all.

"No." He replied with a sigh. "Don't go anywhere. That won't help. I wish you would at least _try_ to get to know him better though. He's really not as bad as you must think."

Harry's gaze was on his goblet of 'wine'. "There's so much to this." He whispered and shifted uncomfortably. "I keep thinking about it over and over. A mate? What is this really? Why now?" He sighed with a soft chuckle as he ruffled his hair with merciless fingers. "I suppose I get the 'why now' part, but… I just can't see it. I suppose… I would have jumped at the opportunity during the war. Someone that would take care of me forever and would love me even if I kicked the bucket. I craved it, but… it's not like I expected to live much longer anyway. With everyone putting a price on my head; people like the Lestrange's that would still be loyal after Voldemort's death. I thought that after I got rid of all of the dregs of war, then I would have no use. I keep thinking that too. I'm The-Boy-That-Just-Won't-Die." He snickered. "Like a cat with a millions lives. Not really though." He laughed. "I'm in _no_ way graceful, and I can't remember the last time I landed on my feet." Draco smiled as well. "I can't even stand out of bed." He laughed almost hysterically. "I have to roll out and fall on the floor before feeling the urge to actually rise."

"You're obviously not going to die any time soon." Draco added, trying to get back to the conversation they were having after a small pause. "You've grown up. You're stronger in many ways –mind, body, and magic. You're obviously _old_ enough for a relationship. What is there?"

"It's odd." Harry murmured. "To try and go from the life I had, to… this…" He gestured around him. "I'm sure it's easier for you to imagine living the rest of your life with some person the fates have chosen for you that will annoy you as equally as you will them." Draco smiled at that, but let Harry continue. "You've had your whole life to come to terms with it, but I don't know if I can right now."

"Why?" Draco asked desperately, emotions showing left and right across his face.

"I don't mean to stab a knife into old wounds," Harry began, locking eyes with Draco and making the blonde sit back with worry, "but I was sheltered during the war. The things Death Eaters did were only revealed to me through nightmares of Voldemort's workings that I had seen every once in a while. Now that I am an Auror I see it all full blast. The terrorizing, the pain, the death, the blood, the masochistic behavior… all for a bastard that has long-since been dead." Harry looked to Draco sadly. "I pray every time I see such things, that you never had to see them as a child. I pray that you never knew of such things, and now…" Harry paused as he gazed off in a different direction. "Now I pray that your father never did those things." He whispered distantly as he seemed to remember several horrific things. "Aside from the fact that I don't know the man –the only good side I ever saw of him was when he saved me; the only good things I ever heard of him were from you." He looked directly into Draco's eyes then.

Draco steeled himself against the sadness and despair for his father. He had to hope that Harry could still love his father, even after becoming an Auror.

"You'll have to speak with my father over such things." The veela told him gently. "I wish I could say that my father would never torture or…" He paused to think of more horrific things, "… or anything, but I can not vouch for what those Death Eaters along with Voldemort's monstrous power could have forced him to do. I can only vouch for him as the best man I know, as the best father I've ever met, as the man that has always made me proud, and the man I strive to return that favor to."

The dark-haired man nodded several times, with a small smile crossing his features. "Yes." Harry murmured. "I agree. I understand all of that and you know I respect your opinion." They shared another long stare. "I have been thinking of such things as well. For now, I shall try harder to be civil and get to know your version of Lucius, instead of the one that I am used to hearing about. My worries and assumptions can be dealt with later."

"Can you honestly put them aside long enough to see _him_ and not his image?" The veela asked, foreboding worrying his brow.

Harry seemed to be pondering that for a long while. "I think I can." He responded softly. "I think I've grown enough to do that, yes." He answered.

Draco sighed in relief. That was at least _one_ step closer.

"Alright, well, I must get ready." Draco stood from the table, bowing his head slightly to Harry, and leaving the room for his chambers.

Harry sat at the table a while longer.

Yes. He would try. It would be hard, with all of the things he had seen, not to accuse Lucius, but all of the things he had seen had been while Lucius was in jail, so it wasn't by his hand, but still… similar things could have happened and he didn't think he could be with Lucius if that was the case.

There was also the issue of Lucius being… a man. It wasn't so much the gender, which would be somewhat new to Harry, but it was that Lucius was a _man_. Not gender, but like, fully grown, and domineering and aristocratic, and… he couldn't _see_ Lucius as being a loving man who could show tenderness and caring, or emotion… period. The man always wore a mask. Would that always be the case? He couldn't live with someone who didn't express emotion. Even Draco had cracked his shell to Harry, but that was probably only because Lucius wanted Harry. It hurt the dark-haired man to think his blonde friend was only his friend because Lucius wanted him. Was that all their relationship was based on? Was that all Lucius' and his relationship –if there would, in fact, be one- would be based on? Some primal instinct to settle down and have sex?

He had to stop thinking of this. It was giving him a headache and a pain in his chest.

Maybe a nice long bath would soothe him. He hadn't had a bath in ages. It was usually just a quick scrub to clean himself before the next mission.

He used his magic to call for a house-elf as Draco had showed him to do when he didn't know their names. One popped up beside him and bowed respectfully

"Yes, Master Harry?" She asked in an irritatingly squeaky voice. They would never stop calling him 'Master'. It was quite a losing battle, wasn't it?

"Could you draw me a bath, please?" He asked softly of her and she blushed, but he wasn't sure if it was his kind tone, or him saying 'please'.

"Yes, Master Harry." She bowed again and popped away.

Slowly, Harry rose from the table and left the room with his book held so he could walk and read at the same time. He needed a distraction. If he kept thinking of the older veela, then he would keep thinking about negatives to the situation, and would therefore make it impossible to give the man a chance.

He was, in fact, gorgeous. Harry didn't understand how _he_ could be so appealing to someone who was so gorgeous, but he supposed it was just part of the whole instinct thing that Veela had.

The only good memory he had of Lucius was from when the veela had saved him in the final battle, and it was something that he had reminisced about quite a bit, until the whole thing with Remus, and being an Auror. Since then, he hadn't really thought about it too much, but now… he wished he could remember it more clearly.

* * *

Lucius watched as Harry boarded his motorcycle and it roared to life. His son stood a great distance from the machine at first with a thick cloak surrounding him.

After a few more exchanged words that the veela could not make out, Draco boarded the bike behind Harry and they took off down the drive a bit before they started to soar through the air and off to Harry's Muggle friend.

He strode to the fireplace, grabbed some of the powder from a pouch atop it, then tossed the glittering dust into the fire and called for his most trusted –and probably only- friend.

"Severus!"

After no response, Lucius got down on his knees and called into the flaring fire:

"Snape Manor." He announced clearly, then shoved his head into the fire and glared around the dark rooms. It was midday on a Monday in August. Not even _close_ to the time where Severus would be back at the school. He should be making up his class curriculums and drinking plenty of alcohol to dull the thoughts of upcoming brats that he'd get to deal with. "Severus!" He shouted angrily.

"What!" Came the nasty reply as said-man stalked into the room with billowing robes and a very pissy expression as he looked into the fire. "What do you want, Lucius?"

"Draco has left for the day and I want company. I'm coming over." He proclaimed and pulled back.

Severus raised his brow in half frustration, half amusement. It would _never_ cease to amaze him how both Malfoys never failed to order him around as they saw fit without giving a shit whether he had plans of any kind. It's not like he actually _did_, but it was the principal of the thing.

Lucius gracefully exited the fire in a burst of flames and stood tall next to the Potions Master.

"We have some things to discuss." The blonde informed him and Severus once again raised his brow at the veela, not really even surprised anymore by all these spontaneous visits and odd topics of random conversation.

"The Sitting Room?"

"That's fine." Lucius nodded as he gestured Severus to lead the way. At least the Malfoy's would always be polite in etiquette. When in another's home, you always let _them_ lead the way instead of the other way around, whether you know your way or not.

_Ever the Malfoy._ Severus thought as they sat in the Sitting Room for what would surely be a very _long_ and arduous conversation.

* * *

Draco glared at the house they had stopped in front of. He released Harry's waist and stood first from the bike.

"A bit… small… isn't it?" Draco queried as he looked over the three story Victorian.

"Not for her, Draco. That's what I meant this morning. I'm used to places like this." Harry gestured the building. "You obviously see the difference between Hermione's home and yours."

"Obviously!" Draco sneered.

"Harry!" A high pitched voice called to him as a very beautiful woman came dashing out of the house in quite the undignified way.

"Be nice." Harry warned Draco softy as he stepped off his bike and onto the curb to welcome Hermione with open arms.

"I've missed you so much!"

"I've only been gone for the weekend." Harry responded with a laugh.

"That's _far_ too long." She pouted before turning to Draco and debating something before she also hugged the surprised blonde. "It's good to see you still have your health, Mal- eh, uh, what should I call you?"

"Draco is fine." He answered her with a slightly smirk.

"And you can call me Hermione." She responded brightly.

"It's settled then."

"Good. Now, let's go inside and talk about everything that's happened in the last few days!" She urged as she pushed her two guests into the 'small' house. "Feel free to do magic. I have no guests here."

"At least it _smells_ nice in here." Draco commented as he entered the house.

Harry glanced at him with a quirked expression. "I… guess." He mumbled and sniffed the air. "Sure, whatever you say."

"Must be the food." Hermione added. "I just finished breakfast. I woke up a bit late." She smiled at him. "Let's talk in here."

In the Living Room all three sat as Harry began explaining everything that had happened since he had left Hermione on Saturday with Draco interrupting to add his own bits to the conversation. It wasn't until another two hours had passed that Hermione finally had most of the story.

"He knocked you off your broom and claimed it was _your_ fault!" Hermione shouted indignantly.

"Yes." Harry nodded the affirmative.

Before Draco could intervene Hermione laughed and smirked evilly which caught the blonde off guard.

"You didn't take that, of course?" She asked assuredly.

Harry smirked back at her. "Of course not."

"Did you curse him? Hex him? Whack him over the head with a very heavy object? Scream at him?"

"One out of four." Harry snickered. "I screamed at him and slapped him to wake him up to reality."

"What!" Draco snapped in surprise. He'd missed that bit of information before.

"Good for you!" Hermione exclaimed with joy. "I don't know about him, Harry." She murmured as she paced. "If he's going to be like that, I don't know if he's necessarily going to be good for you."

"Now, see here!" Draco intervened and both Gryffindors turned to look at him with slightly wider eyes. "Since my father is not here to defend himself, I suppose I'll have to step up." He glared at Harry. "He's not like that all the time. He was just being a worry-wart-" Before he could go on, Hermione laughed softly, gathering their attention.

"Well, of course, Malfoy." She nodded a few times. "I've read about Veela. I understand just as Harry does that he's not going to flip out every chance he gets, but if he thinks he can order Harry around like that, then he has issues. In a relationship of two men, there isn't necessarily a dominant all the time. From my impressions of your father and Harry, both men are dominant creatures. Harry isn't one to be told about and neither is your father going to bow submissively to his every whim, so they would have to learn to seriously compromise, you know? There can't be any of this 'you'll do what I say because I said so' crap, though."

Harry nodded with a nostalgic smile. "I've missed your wisdom, 'Mione. They should create a 'Hermione Pendant' that talks to you sensibly all the time so you don't do stupid things." He joked. Hermione broke out into laughter.

"What a fun project for the Twins." She responded in kind and both laughed as Draco stared at them both oddly.

_Gryffindors._ He thought with a shake of his head.

Despite the original topic of conversation, throughout the next few hours, Draco found himself enjoying his company immensely. They laughed and joked, and by noon Draco began to think that maybe his impression of Gryffindors had been a bit off. They obviously weren't _all_ bad because he had befriended Potter, but even Granger –eh, Hermione, wasn't so bad either. Sure, she'd been a know-it-all and a bitch in school, but once you weren't on the wrong side of her temper she was rather sweet.

Letting the comfortable talking space they had erected get the better of him –instead of thinking before speaking, Draco just opened his mouth and asked about Hermione 'extra weight'. It had only been one year since their graduation. How had she gained so much, so quickly?

Harry gave him a grave look that spoke volumes about how stupid his question had been to speak aloud to the object of his curiosities, but Draco obviously couldn't take back the comment now, so he gave Hermione an apologetic look, but also a small nod to urge her to answer if she would.

Hermione glared daggers at the Slytherin, then looked like she was about to cry, then her mood swung again to calm understanding before returning to crying mode. How did girls manage all of these mood swings? Was it that time of the month? Why would Potter drag him here if it were? Didn't Potter remember how testy Draco was around women who were moody?

"I was dating before the end of Seventh Year at Hogwarts. I was pregnant before the second month out of Hogwarts, and a few months before I was to marry him I went to the hospital because of extreme pains where the baby was. They had to operate to save me, but I lost the child and the ability to have more, so my fiancée left me. The pregnancy left me some rather shapely hips as you so generously pointed out and they won't go away."

"I'm sorry for being so thoughtless in my speech, Hermione. I really shouldn't have spoken so rudely." He watched as she wiped away a tear. The loss was still fresh to her obviously. It must have happened only a few months before. The blonde felt like a heel.

He stood gracefully, offered a kiss to her hand like any gentleman would and apologized once more.

"Really, it's fine." She murmured with a blush. "No harm done."

"I'm relieved." He murmured stepping back and releasing her hand. Harry smiled at his friends appreciatively –he didn't even have to step in. He was proud of the veela for his grace of tongue. "I should be going." Draco whispered, turning to Harry. "I have to stop at the Ministry for a while before I leave, so I should go now."

Harry glanced at the grandfather clock in this room as it clanged gently to announce noon. "Yes, I suppose so. I'm terribly sorry you have to go and all that rot. I'll be nice to your father, I promise."

Draco sighed as they locked eyes. "Try being more than nice if you can manage it. I think he deserves a little something. Even if it means nothing to you, it could mean the world to him, you know?"

"Yes." Harry nodded once and smiled.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Hermione murmured as she chewed on her fingernail. "Do you have to go back now too, Harry?" She asked worriedly.

"No." He shook his head. "I'll keep you company until dark, just to make you feel better."

"Well, no… leave before dark so you get back before dark, but don't leave yet." She begged with a pout. Harry smiled as he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

"I promise." He murmured and kissed her cheek.

"Harry, can I see you for a second?" Draco asked a bit worriedly.

Harry immediately looked up to him mirroring his worry. "Sure."

They stepped out into the hall –Harry gesturing for Hermione not to worry- and Draco grabbed Harry's arm kind of roughly and pulled him against the staircase wall with a thud before stepping close to his friend.

"Look," Draco started a bit hesitantly, "you have to tone down all this touching thing around other people."

"What? Excuse me?" Harry glared at his friend, ignoring their closeness as his temper began to rise, but Draco's look calmed him down immediately.

"I'm just trying to stop a fight before it happens." Draco whispered to him urgently and Harry began to understand suddenly.

"Smell." He murmured in acknowledgement. "He'll smell Hermione on me and think…"

"I don't think Father has ever met your friend, so he would get flustered if you came home with her smell engraved onto your clothes and skin. Until you two can bond more closely he'll be suspicious of everyone that you touch, or that touches you. I'm just warning you for her own safety. If he smells her, then he meets her one day, he might attack her for touching you. Father has a great deal of self-control, but no veela can stop themselves when they come across that situation –and if you're not there with him to stop him from acting, it could get ugly. Do you know what I mean?"

Harry nodded with a sigh. "That's why you're so close to me right now?"

"I'm trying to dull the scent for now, though it will still be there. Just try and sit on another couch, then leave without a hug. Please. Just this once?" Draco asked with a pleading tone.

Harry nodded reluctantly. This veela thing was starting to get annoying, but… he could live with it for now.

"Do you want to hug me, or something?" Harry suggested.

Draco nodded seriously. "That would probably help get rid of it. It would give you my scent instead which is better than hers. Even if Father gets angry because of my scent on you, at least he can get mad at me and not her. I would hate to see Father blow up at your friend, then you two be in another fight over a hug from her."

"Agreed."

They awkwardly leaned closer and embraced, though both couldn't help but be tense during it. After a few more moments of closeness Draco pulled away and smiled lopsidedly.

"Okay. I have to go. Remember what I said!" He turned, pulling his cloak from the coat stand and strode out of the house with a grace only a Malfoy possessed.

Harry sighed, then pulled his shirt up to smell it. He could smell Draco's cologne on it and the fruity smell of his shampoo. He grimaced. If it was one thing Harry hated it was fruit-smelling shampoo. He liked the shampoos with scents you couldn't recognize, or ones of flowers, or something that smelled _nice_. He idly wondered what shampoo the elder Malfoy used as he walked back into the Living Room to keep Hermione company for another couple of hours.

"Let's make something to eat!" He called to the girl gaily. "I'm hungry!"

She laughed at his tone and they both headed to the kitchen for sandwiches.

* * *

_Only one more ingredient. Stir in counter-clockwise motion for one minute._ He counted the seconds warily. He was second best in potions next to Severus, but thankfully that didn't matter now. He had the skills needed to make this potion, and thanks to Severus, he had the ingredients that were so rare and difficult to find that he knew of only one person that would have them.

Of course he'd left a great deal of money on the table for the man to compensate… Severus wouldn't have given up the ingredients if he hadn't been crafty; it was the only way.

The veela glanced down at the book on the counter next to the cauldron Draco had used in his Seventh Year at Hogwarts. Of course, Malfoys replaced all tools they used annually to be sure that they were of the proper quality. He thanked the gods his son had been too busy with other things this past year to throw out his school knick knacks.

Normally, Lucius would have bought the potion, but it was one that wasn't easily found with an Apothecary. He would have had to wait for the man to make it and waiting was _far_ too stressful on his nerves at the moment.

"I hope it works." He murmured as he ladled half a cup full into a goblet. Upon meeting the colder metal, the liquid began to steam and mist eerily.

Without any resolve to stop himself, Lucius took a swig from the goblet and downed all that he had poured. After he put down the goblet, he grimaced. Not only had it tasted terribly, but it had also taken immediate effect. His stomach was churning. He could feel the potion seeping into his organs and bloodstream –already beginning to alter him.

The potion was the best of its kind. Mind –there were only two potions remotely to his specifications- he hadn't had a wide selection to chose from. The concoction would last six hours fully before wearing off without any pain to himself –only a mild discomfort, though the drinking of the potion was indeed quite stomach turning.

He gasped as he began to feel himself changing. It was an odd sensation, almost painful –skin tightening, bones shortening- it felt like his whole body was tightening around him to the point of suffocation, but just when it was getting unbearable… it stopped.

He unwrapped his arms from around himself where he'd been trying to hug away the pain in his chest. Looking around wildly, he dashed to the large mirror on the far wall, near the exit of the dark room.

Upon looking in the mirror, he found it horrifically startling.

A younger version of himself was staring back through his eyes… it was like looking into a portrait of oneself from when you were younger, but… it was moving as you moved.

He touched his face to make sure it was real and not merely an illusion. All the remaining weariness from his year in prison was gone. Any lines of age he may have had, had dissipated. His height was slightly shorter than he remembered. His eyes were wider and showed more emotion than he remembered. He looked about twenty, perhaps. The part he noticed just after all this, though was the gnawing need for his mate. It ate away at him. Where was his mate? He should be at Malfoy Manor.

He glanced out the single window in the room. It was almost pitch black outside. Where was he?

Suddenly, a loud slam of the front doors. No. It wasn't loud. It was just his senses picking up on the noise easily. His senses were so much more finely tuned now that he was younger. He growled for a moment in frustration as he tried to calm his emotions and veela powers down, but the effort was useless. At this age he had not built up the capacity yet for such ambitions. He had only just married Narcissa at such an age, and was beginning to become docile.

"Lucius!"

His mate! That was his mate. His mate was _calling_ him! His mate wanted him! They could complete the bonding now.

He opened the door and rushed down the hall, trying vainly to calm himself, but the hormones were too terrible. He couldn't. He didn't _want_ to. He could hear his mate even when he was on the floor above him.

"Where is Lucius?" He seemed to be asking a house-elf, but the answer was muffled by Lucius' breathing as he rushed down the hall and into the main corridor of the First Floor. He was just in time to see Harry entering the Ground Floor study room.

* * *

Harry looked around the Ground Floor briefly before deciding on the Study. He could relax and Lucius would find him eventually, or the house-elf would find Lucius and tell Harry where he was. The teen merely wanted to talk civilly with the man and promise that he would be fair and… whatever. He just wanted to assure the veela that he wasn't angry with him for whatever had happened that morning. It had been a mutual misunderstanding.

Things could work… they could!

He felt invigorated to make things better between Lucius and himself and he _would_ too.

Hermione had said she had a bad feeling, but he hoped it was for some other day when Draco was around to facilitate between them.

Suddenly, the doors to the warm Study flew open. Harry swung around –tearing his gaze from the starry sky to look at the blonde.

Harry was startled by how gorgeous Lucius was. It had been hard to distance himself with those silver eyes before, but now… he felt so drawn that he just wanted to give in to his body's wants… but no! He wouldn't give in! What was going on? Why was he suddenly feeling this way? Lucius looked… different. Something was different. Something was _wrong_.

The dark-haired wizard began to panic as he saw the hungry gaze that Lucius held on him.

Lucius approached Harry swiftly. It was unfortunate for himself that as another side-effect of the aging potion, his hormones would shoot back up through the roof. It was worse than he remembered his hormones being back then, and only seemed more amplified by his mate being so hot and so close to him.

He approached Harry, the teen backing up as quickly as possible, but unable to escape. What was he doing? He's an Auror! Why wasn't he using magic, or defending himself, but… those eyes…. How could he attack something so beauti… no! Stop thinking like that!

Quite suddenly Lucius was too close to do anything anyway and the blonde just attacked him with fervor. His lips were quick because Harry seemed to struggle against him so. He couldn't even comprehend that his body was doing this. _Is this me?_ The blonde asked himself, even though he couldn't control a damned thing he was doing.

They fell backwards, Harry under Lucius as he fell onto the couch, though he managed to stay upright and in a sitting position.

Harry was getting hot and bothered by this veela as it encroached on his personal space –shoving him onto the couch with his legs spread to admit Lucius, allowing the veela to lean against his crouch and pull open his shirt without too much fight.

He needed help. He wouldn't be able to resist the veela's charms forever. He wished idly that he could have the other Lucius back. The docile, sensible Lucius had been so much better. Perhaps if he himself were younger, then this wouldn't bother him so much, but he didn't want a mindless ape taking him against his will.

He vaguely heard someone call out his name, and it most certainly wasn't Lucius because his mouth was otherwise occupied on Harry's nipple.

"Help! Draco!" Harry called out frantically, and he felt a painful bite against his nipple. He realized the veela probably didn't appreciate him calling out his son's name instead of his own, but Harry needed help badly.

The younger veela came into view of the open door and saw Harry struggling against Lucius, his face flustered and a bit of blood streaming down to his stomach.

Draco became enraged and horrified that his father would do something like that, but as he quickly approached, he realized why Lucius was acting odd, and why Harry couldn't find the strength to shove him off. Though it didn't effect him at all, Draco could still sense when the allure of a veela was being used and it was certainly thick in the room at the moment, totally catching Harry off-guard. It seemed barely a sliver of Harry's consciousness was still trying to get the veela away. Draco dreaded to think what would have happened if he hadn't come home early. Harry would've been…

The younger veela gasped when he actually _saw_ his father though. It wasn't the fact that Lucius was licking up Harry's neck and feeling him up, that caused Draco to become startled, it was Lucius' appearance. He was _much_ younger.

Draco decided he would contemplate why his father looked such a way after Harry was safely away from the hormone-rampant man.

With all the strength Draco could muster he yanked his father by his shirt, to get him off of Harry who continued to pant badly, his chest rising and falling so quickly that Draco worried for his health. The dark-haired man seemed very much relieved to have the veela off of him though. He sent Draco a faint smile through his labored breaths.

"Thanks." He rasped out, and Draco nodded to him quickly before turning back to the furious and thrashing veela within his grasp.

Lucius was staring at Draco with an animalistic fury at being disturbed.

Draco brought out his wand quicker than his father could move and cast a quick binding charm on him, causing Lucius to fall to the floor, fighting against the magic that kept him bound. Next, Draco quickly pulled out a strong calming potion and forced it down his father's throat, then he stood up with satisfaction at his work as his father soon calmed to his normal state.

Once Draco was satisfied that his father was totally calm again, he released the charm and Lucius flew into a standing position.

"Draco!" He shouted, furious that his son would do that to him, and not knowing why it had been done, but then he saw Harry with his shirt torn open, his legs spread weakly from where Lucius had been leaning against him, and blood seeping from his nipple as he breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. "Oh, Harry." He whispered weakly. "By the gods." He murmured, horrorstruck. "What have I done?"

Draco remained between Harry and Lucius, just in case something in his father caused him to want to be nearer to his mate without Harry's consent.

"It's a good thing I ran into Uncle Severus and he told me about his suddenly missing potions ingredients after your visit, or I might not have come in on time to stop you." Draco grunted. Lucius looked –if possible- even paler than he had when he'd come home from Azkaban.

"Gods, Harry. I'm sorry." Lucius told him sincerely. The blood on Harry's chest was what really hurt to see. He had done that. He had caused his mate actual pain. He wouldn't be surprised if Harry never wanted his touch ever, now. Lucius tried slowly walking towards Harry, but Draco kept him at a distance. "I'm sorry, Harry." Lucius told his mate, though Harry hardly paid him a glance. The dark-haired man seemed completely confident that Draco would keep his aggressor at bay, so he obviously wasn't worrying about Lucius coming at him again, but the older veela could see the way his mate had flinched when he'd spoken. Lucius' gaze found the floor in shame. "I tried to… I did take the ingredients from Severus to brew a potion that would make me temporarily younger. I thought that you might be more appealed to the idea of being my mate if perhaps I was more your age." He admitted sadly. "I _never_ thought my built up hormones would attack me at once as they did." He insisted firmly. "I… I had no control. I…"

"Sh." Harry called, then tried to clear his raspy throat. All of his heavy breathing had made his throat a bit raw, but he managed to sit up, and leaned his elbows against his knees, relaxing his breathing further. He was nearly totally calm by then.

Lucius pushed past Draco, who seemed a bit reluctant to let him be too close to Harry, but the other teen didn't seem to mind. Kneeling in front of his mate, Lucius got down on all fours so that he could look up into Harry's sweat-glistening face as he breathed.

"I'm sorry." He told his mate with every fiber of his being portrayed in those words.

Lucius was about to get up to leave for the duration of the potion, when his loose long hair was yanked. He turned his head as much as he could, and saw Harry's fist clenched tightly around his ponytail.

"Fix it." Harry muttered out. Lucius didn't understand the statement as he looked concernedly back at Harry.

"What?" He asked, honestly confused.

"You made the wound, now fix it." Harry commanded dominantly and Lucius felt slightly embarrassed that he was turned on by that dominance his mate was displaying. "Veela have healing powers." Harry announced softly and both veela were shocked to realize that Harry knew more about them than they had guessed. "It'll hurt like hell to wear any clothing for the next week if you don't fix it now." Harry told Lucius. The older veela realized this was true, but couldn't get over the giddy feeling in his heart that his mate wanted his touch, even after what he'd done. He sternly told himself not to go too far, or to think that just because Harry wanted him to heal the wound, that he also wanted his company as well. That would be a foolish connection.

Draco stood back, merely watching vigilantly as his father came up on his knees, placing his hands on Harry's thighs at first, but then on the couch beside his hips when his mate growled at him. He then tentatively licked at a small stream of the blood that had come from the wound, wanting to clean his mate of all proof that he had harmed him.

Harry hissed his breath in painfully, as he tried to ignore his _very_ sensitive nipple.

"Don't do that. Just heal it." Harry ordered with clenched teeth. He was trying to keep himself from breaking down right there and then, and bowing to the allure of this powerful veela before him. It wasn't even something that Lucius was doing to him on purpose. The older blonde just happened to be drop-dead gorgeous with a _very_ talented tongue. No matter how much Harry had wanted to stop the veela before, he had still enjoyed the experience more than he would have liked whilst being forced into something like that.

Lucius had so much guilt on his conscience that he couldn't properly enjoy his closeness with his mate. He didn't notice the slightly hardened erection that was beginning to strain against his mate's pants. He only concentrated on his healing powers as he softly kissed the abused appendage. His veela magic healed the wound almost instantly, but he delayed in pulling away from his mate as his senses began to hear, smell, and feel all the signs of arousal that were coming from his Harry.

"Fine." Harry snapped as he stood quickly, shoving Lucius roughly away from him. Without worrying about his exposed chest at all, he stalked over to Draco and kissed his cheek softly. "Thank you, Draco." He whispered tenderly.

Lucius felt his heart break as he watched this. His mate was _so_ confusing! He _knew_ his mate had been aroused my him, but he clearly hadn't wanted the actions inflicted… perhaps he had wanted to wait. Lucius was dying for the contact, but obviously for the other wizard it wasn't so terrible of a pull. Draco had saved Harry, so Lucius understood how he would deserve some type of reward, but it still hurt to watch him receive a kiss from _his_ mate.

Before either veela could speak up again, Harry stormed back into the room and right up the Lucius who was kneeling on the floor at the moment, now looking up to Harry with wide eyes expressing every emotion possible.

Harry looked down at Lucius with a frown, then stuck his hand out to the blonde.

Lucius tentatively took the hand and was pulled into a standing position, though now he was shorter than Harry by less than an inch. He wished, suddenly, for his age and height again.

With that settled Harry pulled his arm back and settled a hard punch against Lucius' chest. The blow was painful, causing Lucius to step back and re-gather his breath, but it hadn't caused any damage.

Harry grabbed Lucius' shirt and pulled their eyes level again.

"I'm _very_ disappointed in you, Mr. Malfoy. I would have thought that a man of your wisdom and stature could clearly see that age was not a factor in this in the least. I don't care if you're taller than I am, or smarter than I am, or stronger than I am… the only thing I care about is whether I'd want to live the rest of my life with you and whether both of us would be happy in said-relationship or not, so I suggest your pull your head out of your ass and put you brains back in your head instead of your penis. Now…" He let Lucius go. "I'm going to go away and be angry at you for the rest of the night, but because I promised Draco I'd play nice with you, I'm going to forget about this whole incident tomorrow. Are we clear?"

"You… forgive me of this?" Lucius asked him in complete shock, unable to hide a thing. Damn his expressive eyes!

"Did I stutter?" Harry responded, frowning.

Lucius was about to respond, but he just let out a short laugh of relief. "No." He murmured as he watched his mate turn and leave the room in that sexy little strut he had.

"Good night." He called over his shoulder looking at Draco, though he didn't put a name to the comment.

"Night." Lucius responded in a gentle whisper of breath.

After a long moment of serenity, Lucius looked over to his son who was glaring daggers at him.

"Father, if he won't say it, then I will. What were you thinking! Scratch that, I know what you were thinking, but why? You're smarter than that! Do you realize what you could have done!"

"Yes." Lucius snapped back with a growl. "It hurts me to think of how I could have and _did_ hurt him, but…" A heavenly expression crossed Lucius' face as he fell into a dream world. "He forgives me. By the gods." He sighed and fell onto the couch where Harry had been thrown before. "My mate." He mumbled incoherently, clearly smitten with object of his affections.

Draco scowled at him and sneered in disbelief. "How long does this fucking potion last?" He asked in outrage. "I want my father back." He demanded in a childish way.

Lucius looked at his son with a smirk. "Six hours. I can't wait." He jumped up from the couch. "The guilt is hounding me, but the pleasure I have from him being so close, and coming back after leaving –even though he must have been furious…. This will work." He finally spoke confidently as he looked into his son's eyes. "It will work out."

"Glad to see you're confident about that." Draco grumbled.

"Something wrong?" Lucius wondered with a raised brow. He wasn't worried, or angry, or sad, or depressed… he was in the perfect median of nirvana caused by his mate and nothing could pull him down from that right now.

"I came back early, finding you mauling my best friend, you both settle it by yourselves, and now I have to go back to fucking Romania." He snapped back at his father's calm.

"That's too bad." Lucius responded airily. "Why don't you just tell them to fuck themselves and stay with us?" He queried softly.

Draco was about to respond about that being ridiculous, but realized it wasn't such an unappealing idea. He quickly went to the desk to pen a letter to the Ministry about him being suddenly ill.

"Good night, Draco. See you in the morning." Lucius called as he left the Study, looking forward to the next day.

* * *

A/N: I was a bit lazy because it's my birthday and all, so I didn't really do responses this time. I'm sorry. I will next time though. Please tell me what you all think. I'm looking forward to it!

* * *

**Quick Response to Questions:**

**Missy Gothika:** Happy Belated Birthday!1

**HecateDeMort:** You live in the UK? Does JK Rowling's next book come out the same time over there as it does here?

**GothicAnn87:** Yes, Harry knows Lucius is a veela and his mate. –smile-

**Nefer Tenshi:** My vague reply to your question is that Draco and Hermione _might_ have something going on, or they _might_ not.

**Slythingirl89:** I think I answered your questions. How did things work out with my favorites file? Did you like anything?

**Chekiita:** I think I answered the bit about Hermione and her baby well… are you still confused? If so, I'll email you and clarify.

**Disco Cult Madness:** Please don't send me hate-mail full of fish…. That would stink up the rest of my mail. –pout-

* * *

**Strega:** I love you bunches, hun. You always make me laugh.

**Pure Black: **Thanks. –blush-

**HPFan-JLM:** No problems. Thanks for reviewing. You make my day with your response!

**Lykaios Nyx:** Glad you liked the squeaking Lucius bit. Everyone seemed to love that. I'm glad I could get away with it.

**DuShuZhi:** Thanks. I'm thrilled that you reviewed. Did you like this chapter?

**ChocolateDemon:** -blushes- You're too kind. I could not live without reviewers like you.

**AislingSiobhan:** I just had to add that bit at the end of the last chapter with Lucius jumping up and down. Everyone loses their composure eventually. I'm glad you liked it.

**Dangelic Fantasy:** -chuckle- You liked the jumping veela bit too, huh?

**Amy:** Did you like it? What did you think of Hermione in this? She has a sense of humor under those brains, me thinks. –chuckle-


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: This was hard to get out, so I hope it came out right.

* * *

Chapter 14 

It was peaceful. Quite the surprise considering the turbulence of recent events. Things were tranquil though. All three men of the house sat in the living room, the fire blazing to warm the cold room from the autumn atmosphere outside.

Harry sat majestically on the couch with a thick book in hand from one of the many shelves in the Malfoy library. Lucius wondered vaguely if Harry had even bothered to care about the dark magic books that resided on the same shelves as the book he had picked.

Ignoring the thoughts that Harry most likely wouldn't be remaining there for much longer, due to his job, Lucius allowed his heart to swell at the sight of his son laid out on the end of the couch with his feet perched in Harry's lap comfortably. Draco, unlike Harry, was working on several papers that he would most likely have to return to the Ministry eventually. He assumed that the Ministry had accepted his bogus sick-story from the night before because Draco seemed content to merely work and not complain. Harry, true to his word, was also being quite amiable today, causing Lucius to smile more contentedly than usual. The older veela himself had changed back to normal in his sleep. When he had awoken and gazed into the mirror, he had been more than relieved to see his real self looking back. It had pleased him to be able to wash away the worries of yesterday in his bath and think more of the future than his fumbles of the past. If Harry could look past his inadequacies, then he would try to see passed his own past mistakes as well.

Lucius sat to the other side of Harry on the couch. He didn't want to crowd his mate and cause him any discomfort, but it was still strenuous for himself to be so far away from his mate when he could be much closer. So they all sat calmly on the sofa as Harry read, Draco nibbled on his quill (yet another new habit) in thought, and Lucius took turns of staring at his son, his mate, the fire, or the newspaper he had in his hands to catch up on current events.

"So, where in the Ministry do you work again, Draco?" Lucius questioned, though he was reluctant to break that precious quiet that had followed their meeting. It hadn't been much of a meeting in Lucius' opinion. It was more of an unplanned joining in the corner lounge of the house that was mostly windows on two walls, illuminating a great deal of space in the room.

Both Draco and Harry looked up from their reading at the breaker-of-silence. Harry turned back to share a bemused glance with Draco before returning to his reading as if he hadn't been disturbed. The soundless interaction caused Lucius to think that he had missed something vital between the younger men, but as he couldn't do anything about it, he kept his emotions together and continued to look at Draco for a response.

"Department of Mysteries, Discoveries, and Recoveries." Draco answered with a wry grin.

"They don't trust a Malfoy enough to work with the mysterious objects, or to go out in the field and search for the mysteries though, so he's stuck at the office doing research and discovering…" Harry paused to think of a word to finish his sentence, then just shrugged, "… _stuff_." The statement was made with underlying sarcasm and venom, though it was not clearly flaunted. Draco adjusted his feet in Harry's lap and nudged the other man's thigh with his bare toe by way of showing some sort of affection. Lucius watched with rapt fascination as Harry never looked away from his book, but brought one of his hands away from it to tickle Draco lightly under his foot before turning another page.

Lucius wished he were telepathic so that he could correspond with his son during moments like this and ask him what had happened. He could see that Harry had defended Draco in a way and also showed his frustration that Draco was not treated properly because of his name, but why would Harry do that? The older veela suddenly felt like an outsider on the routine going on between his son and mate, but he couldn't be jealous because he knew there was nothing between the two aside from companionship and perhaps camaraderie.

After finding no way to continue a conversation with his last inquiry he tried once more to initiate a conversation between them, "Harry." He whispered softly.

Hearing his name spoken with such love and yet such trepidation, Harry looked up from his book with his mouth open in a slight 'o' of questioning. Draco looked up as well as he finished a sentence on his parchment.

"What book are you reading?" He asked with a steady tone to his voice.

Harry smirked, then snorted, then grinned and broke out into laughter. Draco harbored an amused glare at his father before he covered his mouth to try and stifle any snickering that may have come out.

Lucius outright frowned at this. What had he said that was so funny? Why were they laughing at him?

Before Lucius' pride could be hurt any more, Harry pulled himself back together and looked at the older blonde with happy bright eyes that melted the veela's frown away.

"I'm sorry I laughed at you." He started. "I didn't meant to offend you, but it was just such a cute attempt at conversation that I couldn't help but laugh." He snickered as Lucius tried to force away his smile of glee that Harry had called him cute. "Eh," Harry began to look at the book in his hands, "it's just one of the dark books in your library about curses and hexes." He admitted with a shrug. Lucius' eyes widened slightly. Would the Manor get a look-through by the Ministry because Harry had to turn this object in to them? Harry happened to see his worry though and he smiled again. "I know what you're thinking, and no. I'm just going to take this home with me. Technically, they only told me to take the offending dark object away from the Manor. Draco and I agreed that that doesn't mean I can't take it home with me instead of turning it in to the Ministry."

The veela smirked at the cunning of his mate and son. Both boys exchanged a smirk before returning their gaze to Lucius.

"And where would 'home' be?" The older man queried with a raised brow, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Here." Draco snapped, before thinking and exchanging a firm glance with Harry. Draco looked hopeful, but Harry glared and Draco sighed, silencing himself from further words to incite Harry's wrath.

A pregnant silence caused the atmosphere of the room to turn uncomfortable. Lucius looked back and forth to either man to answer the silent question hanging in the air for them to explain willingly.

"Would it be too much to ask for an explanation?" Lucius demanded in a slightly agitated tone. He was losing his patience from trying to be so calm and understanding all of the time.

Harry looked off to the side of the room and out a window where the autumn leaves blew by the window and swirled with the breeze in the colorful hues of the season. He obviously was pondering his answer, but just as it seemed he would speak, Draco interrupted with his own hasty reply.

"The building -including Harry's flat- burned down during one of his missions near the end of March before his following visit here the next month." Draco explained in one breath, becoming a bit protective as he said this. It had obviously been an issue between the boys who now shared another look. Harry was glaring daggers at Draco and Draco was staring firmly back at the other man, seemingly unaffected. "I finally got it out of him why he was so depressed and I offered him a place here to live… thinking it would be perfect." Draco looked meaningfully at his father who nodded his understanding that Draco had been thinking about him once again. It made him smile with pride, but the atmosphere was still gloomy with the obvious problem that Harry hadn't accepted. Harry continued to stare out the window as if Draco weren't talking about him like if he wasn't there.

"And I declined." Harry announced unnecessarily. He snapped the book shut and tossed it on the coffee table in front of the couch. Without being mindful of the blonde's feet in his lap, he stood from the couch, causing Draco to nearly topple over.

"Yes, you declined." He agreed cynically with a frown as he tried to right himself with all of his papers and inkwells and books almost falling to the floor in the process. "I've been meaning to ask if you had procured another flat yet?" Draco asked with a scowl, slightly mixed with some concern.

Lucius looked up to Harry, thinking he would shoot back with a scathing remark of how he had obviously done that, but none came. Harry was sitting by the window in a chair, looking out at the landscape that was so beautiful around Malfoy Manor now that the garden had been restored.

"You haven't got a flat yet!" Draco demanded shortly, his voice rising with a growl of frustration. He plopped his papers down on the table beside Harry's book and scowled at Harry's back.

The dark-haired man sighed heavily, seemingly releasing all of his anger and rubbing his face, as if tired beyond what he showed.

Lucius growled deeply in his throat at his son for troubling his mate. The younger veela heard his father and backed down, but didn't seem too pleased about it. The older Malfoy stood from the couch and approached his mate gracefully. He put his hand casually on Harry's shoulder to get his attention, and was warmed by fact that he didn't flinch away. Harry eventually looked up into Lucius' eyes, seeming to have covered up his weariness in those few short moments.

"Where have you lived for the past five months?" Lucius queried calmly, not removing his hand from the contact he had with his mate.

Harry shrugged and Lucius' hand went with it. "Here and there." Harry answered with another shrug.

The answer didn't satisfy Lucius. He scowled at the information. "I would…" He stopped what he was saying, and thought about it more clearly before continuing. He knew Harry's temper had had quite a short fuse before, and he didn't want to entice that temper in the least. Harry looked up to the older man with curiosity brightening his eyes. "I know that things between us are calculated and we don't have as understanding of a relationship as you and Draco have, but I would like to be able to… become better acquainted with you." He whispered and tried to smile as best he could with the sweat collecting in his palms. "I can see that living here would violate some kind of pride of yours, but… perhaps you would… _visit_ here for a while longer." Lucius suggested carefully.

Harry's eyes narrowed on the older man as he pierced Lucius' silver eyes, as if to gaze into his soul and see the truth behind the request. After a great deal of investigating and Lucius fighting desperately with himself to remain calm and not fidget, Harry softened his eyes.

"How long would this _visit_ last?" Harry questioned keenly.

The first thing that came to Lucius' mind was 'forever', but he couldn't say that. They would have to come to some common ground. The question really was, how long would it take Lucius to win Harry's trust, then his heart?

"Two months." Lucius declared without hesitation.

Harry's gaze narrowed again as he went over a mental calendar of things he had to do in the near-future. When he finished going over these tasks in his head he responded, "A month," in compromise.

"Deal." Lucius nodded once, then leaned hesitantly closer to his mate and gently kissed his hair. He was enlivened to feel how silky smooth it was to the touch, but more importantly, Harry didn't pull away from the kiss. Things were certainly looking up. As Lucius turned back to the couch, Draco was smirking at him with pride. He had obviously accomplished something that Draco had fought to do as well. The older veela loved this. This meant that on some level Harry was more willing to compromise with Lucius than Draco.

The older blonde thought quickly about what to do next to keep the friendly atmosphere going. Without missing a step, he leaned forward and picked up Harry's book from the table, whilst also not bending his knees much at all, so that he would give Harry a fair view of his ass if the boy was looking. Judging by Draco's expression out of the corner of his eye, the dark-haired man _had_ been looking. With a faint smile, he stood back up with the book and walked back over to Harry, who did not even bother looking away or blushing. He didn't seem abashed at all that anyone had caught him looking. It seemed quite the impudent thing to do, but it made the smile on Lucius' face turn to a smirk as he handed his mate the book.

Harry took the book, but placed it on another table beside him. He stood up and started to walk off toward the door, causing both Lucius and Draco to exchange a worried glance as they watched him go without a word.

The dark-haired man stopped in his tracks to stretch his whole body out like a cat –exposing some rather tasty looking tanned skin- and roll his head with a crack, before sighing and turning back to them innocently.

"I'm hungry." He announced. "I'm going to go get something from the kitchen before the meal, then I think I'll take a nap. Wake me for the next meal, will you?"

Lucius, who was still recovering from the sexy display of his mate's body a moment ago, nodded vaguely once. "I will." He answered, and Harry bobbed his head up and down, before yawning as he exited the room.

* * *

He didn't want anything heavy to eat, but he did have a craving for grilled cheese, so Harry popped into the kitchen with a smile and politely asked for one grilled cheese. It took half the fun out of eating the sandwich when Harry had to describe and them actually make the sandwich for himself the Muggle way because the House-elves had no idea what he was referring to, yet still the melted cheese felt good going down his throat.

_Bed._ Harry thought to himself as he exited the kitchen, but then the unpleasant dreams he'd had the night before came back to him in a flash, and he decided to stop by the potions cabinet for some Dreamless Sleep potion before he went to bed. He didn't fancy having more dreams of dead people, whether or not they were fake figments of his imagination running wild with scenes of the Final Battle -complete with dead bodies and blood galore- as their basis.

Later:

Mealtime.

Lucius licked his lips as he walked down the long corridor to his mate's room. It was a pity that he had picked a room –or Draco had picked it for him back on his first visit- so far away from his wing of the Manor.

As he approached the door to the room, his heart-rate picked up dramatically and he started imagining how he would find his mate. The thought that he might sleep in the nude crossed Lucius' mind and he licked his lips again. Though this would prove to give the older veela a good show, he didn't think he would be able to control his hormones if Harry were naked, nor could he control the boner that it would surely cause. Just imagining his mate without clothing made his cock twitch.

He couldn't keep thinking like that though. They would have to eat together after he woke up Harry; he wouldn't have enough time to fix his problem properly if he started something.

With all of this procrastinating he had probably been standing there for quite a few minutes, so he decided to just fuck it (no pun intended) and wake his mate up.

His hand slid over the door handle and he slowly opened one side of the double doors. He peaked into the room and saw it was one of the smaller rooms in the Manor. It was a sitting room and a bedroom combined, with only one fireplace, and a bathroom door off to the side of the bed. A trunk laid at the foot of the small bed. (Small because it wasn't as huge as Lucius', but not as small as any normal bed.) On top of the trunk were the clothes that Harry had been wearing earlier, which immediately caused Lucius' pulse to quicken.

_Oh gods!_ He thought with slightly wider eyes.

He stepped further into the room and saw a dying fire was barely keeping the room warm, but it gave just enough light for Lucius to see the outline of Harry's figure on the bed. The satin sheets molded to Harry's body, showing how he slept on his side with one leg bent under the other. At the end of the bed was where the comforter had been kicked away, but the sheet had remained, and now barely covered his mate's thin waist. The sweaty bare back of his dark-haired mate gleamed from the dim light of the fire. One arm was resting under the pillow as his mate lay in the middle of the bed instead of near the headboard, his other arm was limply stretched out toward Lucius.

As the older blonde approached the bed, he felt his quickened blood start to calm. His mate was so beautiful. So calm and peaceful as he laid there without a care in the world. The serenity around him had calmed Lucius drastically. It made him crave the touch of his mate. He would love to be in that bed with his mate. He could smell the dark-haired boy everywhere. That delicious scent was everywhere in the room; especially the bed. So tantalizing.

_Gorgeous._ He thought with a sigh.

Because of the magnitude of the bed –despite Lucius thinking it small- it was still impossible for him to reach his mate's shoulder from any side of the bed without having to get on the bed. This sent a thrill through Lucius.

He moved as gracefully as he ever had to slip onto the bed without waking his mate, but he did so perfectly. He decided it would probably be better if he wasn't crowding Harry when he awoke the youth, but he so dearly wanted his touch!

With a sad determination he leaned over and touched his mate's shoulder. A tingling sensation shot through his arm at the skin-to-skin contact. He was startled at the wonderful feeling, then vaguely wondered how it would feel to press his entire body to his mate's and have complete skin contact.

"Harry." He whispered hesitantly. He gently shook Harry's shoulder.

A brief glance around the room, and Lucius came across a familiar phial laying on Harry's nightstand. Even though the phial was empty Lucius knew what it was. In the Malfoy Manor they color coded the most used potions, just in case you weren't in the best of conditions to be able to read the tiny writing on the phials when you were in pain. This particular phial was green –a Dreamless Sleep potion.

Why would Harry need that? Was he having nightmares? About what? It was going to be exceedingly more difficult to wake Harry up if he was under the influence of one of those potions. In the Manor, the Dreamless Sleep potions were made especially potent for particularly bad nights. It was meant to give the drinker a full night's sleep. To wake Harry up after he had only been sleeping for two hours would be quite hard.

_So beautiful._ Lucius thought absently as he stared, mesmerized, at Harry's soft pink lips that were slightly parted to let air through. It was said that the bond between a veela and their mate was so powerful, that with merely a kiss a veela could pull their mate from the brink of unconsciousness, or even death to wake once more. Lucius' mother had lavished several bedtime stories on him of such feats happening when magic was common, even to Muggles. It caused simple fairy tales such as Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Whether they were bonded or not, it was supposed to be possible for a veela to awaken their mate, so why couldn't he just try? Why not? What could he lose? The blonde hadn't ever put any stock in the stories his mother had told him, so as a result he had also never told Draco any such rubbish, but now that the situation came to light, he couldn't help feeling curious. The stories must have come from _somewhere_, right?

Suddenly, his lips felt too dry as he leaned forward. He quickly ran his tongue over his lips, then took a deep breath and without any more hesitation he leaned forward, pressing his mouth to his mate's.

The warmest most heavenly sensation shot through his body, starting from his lips, shooting to his heart and slithering throughout his entire body. He pulled back from his mate sharply with a gasp, as if he'd been shocked. The sensation was one that he wouldn't mind a repeat of when his mate was more consensually a part of said-kiss.

When Lucius opened his eyes to see if he'd done any damage, he saw his mate staring groggily at him -eyes half-lidded and a murderous calm shining through.

"Lucius." Harry murmured sleepily.

"I should explain." Lucius responded breathlessly, trying to hide the fear and hope in his voice.

"That would be good." Harry grumbled as he kicked the sheet down a bit more and sat up on his elbows.

The blonde gasped as he quickly looked over his mate, sighing in relief when he saw Harry wore pants made of some kind of stretchy material.

"You were about to explain." Harry reminded as Lucius looked at him expectantly.

"Ah, yes, well…"

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly, even though he was far too tired to make it worth more than a child's glare was worth.

"You won't believe me." Lucius responded in a slightly downtrodden tone. When he looked to see Harry's reaction, he realized that they were still merely six inches from each other. They locked eyes.

"Lucius, I woke up with you on my bed attached to my mouth. Whether your excuse is pathetic or not, I deserve one; within the next five minutes, Lucius."

The blonde nodded in agreement with a sigh. "I was told when I was younger that veela could awaken their mates with a kiss if the need arose." He began. Harry nodded once for him to continue. "I came to retrieve you for dinner, I shook you, then realized you'd taken the potion. Our potions are-"

Understanding seemed to shine through the fog around Harry's head as he smiled at Lucius. "The potions are stronger, so I was knocked out, and it's dinner so you wanted to wake me up instead of letting me sleep like most people would have done."

Lucius was about to nod, but he wasn't sure whether he was being insulted for not seeing the obvious options or whether his reasoning was understood.

Without warning, Harry rose from the bed and marched his to trunk to throw his clothes from earlier back on. The veela's eyes followed Harry as he pulled on a T-shirt.

Lucius rose from the bed and walk over to his mate swiftly as he was settling his shirt.

Harry looked up to Lucius with a frown. "I realize you had this… urge to kiss me." Harry began as he leveled his gaze with Lucius. "Don't you think it would have been better if our first kiss were more special than kissing me awake for dinner, or perhaps more consensual?" He queried cynically with a raised brow yet no anger or malice to his tone.

There were no words to respond to that. It felt like a dismissal, but Harry hadn't outright balked at the idea of them kissing… he had just stated that it hadn't been the right place or time for such an event, which meant that he cared when such events happened.

"Lucius!" Harry exclaimed in exasperation as he waved his hand in the blonde's face to get his attention. "Can you hear me!"

Lucius blinked a few times, then smirked devilishly at his shorter mate. Something just snapped in his head, causing him to look at this situation the way it should be looked at… from the eyes of a dominant mate. Harry was being playful, so he would be too.

Before Harry could respond Lucius had leaned forward and captured his lips again -this time wrapping one arm around Harry's waist and pulling him closer into a gentle kiss. Harry remained stiff in Lucius' arms until he felt a tongue press to his mouth, pushing gently to enter.

With all of his earlier words gone, Harry released himself to the kiss. He felt engulfed by a power that seemed to originate from Lucius, but the dark-haired man couldn't bring himself to care. It felt good to be kissed like this with this amount of love. Something felt… right about this.

Though he was desperate for more, Lucius decided -with what little of his brain that was still conscious to his surroundings- that it would be more courteous to pull back before he overwhelmed his mate.

When he'd pulled away from Harry, it seemed that they both opened their eyes at the same time, connecting their gazes. A thrill shot through Lucius at the lustful hazy gaze his mate was rewarding him with. As those beautiful green eyes cleared, Harry frowned up at the blonde.

"Damn sneaky Slytherin." He walked away from Lucius and out the bedroom door with bare feet. Lucius smiled as he watched his mate leave the room. He was just teased instead of chastised for kissing Harry so suddenly. Did this mean things were progressing? Was Harry going to let him kiss him from now on?

* * *

_What the hell possessed him to do that?_ Harry asked himself with a thoughtful frown. He never would have thought… but then, Lucius was only human… er, veela. He hadn't expected the kiss, but then that's how most things happen; unexpectedly. _Damn Lucius and his cocky Slytherin self!_ _He didn't ask permission to kiss me!_

Who does that though? Who honestly asks permission to kiss another person? That kind of thing was for teenagers who were virgins to everything, but neither he nor Lucius were virgins. It was to be expected that a kiss was just something you started after looking into the eyes of the one meant for you.

Were they meant to be though? Lucius' veela side seemed to think so.

Harry reasoned that Lucius had been suppressing his Slytherin self for so long that when the opportunity presented itself, his sly-self just took the lead in the veela's personality.

With that settled, Harry growled in frustration, wondering if he should be on the offensive for the rest of the night, or whether he was safe to let his guard down. It was the Auror in him that ended the dispute by forcing his guard up.

_Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me._ He thought determinedly.

As his stomach rumbled rather loudly he rushed for the Dining Room and hopefully a feast of food.

Should he be mad at Lucius for his presumptuousness?

… because he wasn't….

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A/N: This chapter was hopefully fun for you all because it was a bitch for _me_.

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**Review:**

**Chekiita:** Thanks for the review, and I had a great birthday thanks to you all reviewing and making me smile.

**Dangelic Fantasy:** You always make me smile with your reviews. Thanks. I wonder what you think of this one though. -winces-

**Kyaku-kun:** You liked hyper-Lucius, huh? What do you think of sly-Lucius?

**Chocolatedemon:** Thanks for the compliments ot my writing. -blush- I'm hoping this story doesn't fal apart under me.

**Aisling Siobhan:** What was Lucius thinking? -you asked me last time, and so it seems the same question must be posed again. -chuckle-

**Pure Black:** You asked why Harry was stubborn... Gryffindor... need I say more? -smile-

**Missy Gothika:** You're going on a holiday? Where? I hope you have fun, and I hope I updated in time for you.

**Strega:** OMG! The length of your review surprised even _me_! You're always so observant and humorous in all of your comments. I appreciate your abilities as my best critic and hope you liked this chapter.

**Tigris T Draconis:** -blush- It's okay to silently read along. I've done it myself some times, but I am thrilled that you reviewed me. Thank you so much. And thanks, my birthday was great!

**Scorpion Moon Goddess:** So Harry's finally caving to the 'allure'! Yah!

**Lykaios Nyx:** You stuck with me and reviewed the longest review I've ever had! You're fabulous and so thorough with you review. You were so comprehensive of everything I wrote, that it just gave me so much pride. Thank you. Hope this is soon enough of an update for you.

**HecateDeMort:** Do you have Harry Potter HBP yet? You said you were trying to get it last time. I hope you do. I haven't finished it yet, but there's a lot of fabulous humor in it and Dumbledore apparently loves raspberry jam. -snicker-

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A/N: Gah! I'm not in love with this chapter. 


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This chapter is short but fun! I'm planning _interesting_ things for the next chapter, so no complaints about this one being short.

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Chapter 15

Dinner was a fairly calm affair. Draco was suspiciously glancing at his company for their odd behavior, but other than that, the meal went silently.

_They're hiding something._ Draco thought suspiciously to himself. _Father looks far too smug, and Harry seems sore about something, as if he's contemplating something he doesn't know how to respond to. Neither of them is going to tell me, huh? That's what **they** think._

"Shall we adjourn to the Den?" Draco offered as he rose tiredly with his half-finished glass of wine without waiting for a response from anyone as he started off toward the room they had been sitting in earlier.

"Actually, I-" Harry began, but Draco shot him a frown with narrowed eyes -what Harry liked to call 'The Glare of Death'. The teen decided the Den wasn't _that_ bad. Maybe he could fall asleep in the chair or something. He felt _exhausted_ and definitely not in the mood for any of Draco's inquiries.

The nirvana surrounding Lucius from earlier fogged up for a moment as he saw his mate's weariness, and, startlingly enough, he _felt_ a weariness of his own, but knew that he was nowhere near tired in any way with all of this extra energy pulsing inside him from the kiss. It was sensational to be able to feel Harry without being near him! It scared him for a moment, but after he realized this was a lingering effect of the kiss, he calmed. He had felt his mate's emotions and thoughts in the moments of the kiss and he idly realized that the effect remained even after the kiss had ended nearly an hour before. He wondered if it would continue forever, or if it would wear off, but he assumed it would eventually wear off and he began to dread that moment when he would no longer be able to feel Harry inside him in this sense.

Aside from his rampant thoughts, Lucius managed perfectly to keep up his smug smirk as Harry and Draco shared a look before his mate rose to leave the room.

He immediately stood as well, though he wasn't sure where they were going because he'd forgotten to pay attention.

Out in the hall, Draco called for a house-elf, ordering for desert and drinks to be served in the Den.

_Ah, he has noticed._ Lucius mentally rolled his eyes at himself. Of course Draco noticed their odd behavior! He was Harry's best friend and his own son -he knew them both well enough to see the difference from before dinner.

They sat down in the Den, Draco on the end of the couch. Harry walked over to a smaller sturdy maroon armchair and plopped down in it so he had a good vantage point to the room, which disappointed Lucius because there wasn't any other chair anywhere near the place Harry had chosen to sit. Lucius sat beside his son on the couch and tried his best not to pout at the distance between himself and his mate.

"What happened?" Draco demanded of them as he sipped his swirling wine.

"Lucius kissed me." Harry answered in the long silence that followed, though he barely spoke so they could hear them, and were it not for their enhanced hearing capabilities, they wouldn't have.

Draco eyes widened slightly as he looked from Harry to his father with a slightly appreciative smile to his father for taking a step forward, but when he looked back at Harry, the teen was hugging his knees, his face obscured by his legs, though his eyes looked thoughtful.

"He kissed you?" Draco asked neutrally of Harry as he tried to judge what the other's mood was and whether he should be explaining his father's actions again, or soothing Harry's ruffled feathers.

"Twice." Harry answered and Draco's eyes widened as he looked back to his father who had the decency to at least blush a light shade of pink as he remembered the scene.

"What do you think of that?" Draco asked as he stood with his wine and sat on the arm of Harry's chair -trying to calm the other teen with his presence.

Harry looked up to Draco with a crooked grin. "If this _thing_ between Lucius and myself works out, are you really going to take orders from me?" He queried with an evil grin.

"Excuse me!" Draco responded, nearly spilling his wine in outrage.

"I'd be like… your other dad." Harry clarified, smirking. "You'd have to do what I tell you to because I know it's 'in your best interest'." He used his fingers as quotes watching Draco's face drain of color before coloring prettily again. The blush lasted until he again spoke to Harry.

"You're my peer. I won't take-"

"He would be higher in the line of authority than you, Draco. He would have just as much say in your life as I do." Lucius added with a small smile. It always warmed his heart, throwing flutters through his stomach as he considered his future with Harry, but it was even more so when Harry himself spoke of their future together.

Draco sighed as he looked back to Harry, seeming to take his friend into a new light suddenly. He would no longer be his confidant.

In an odd moment of gentleness, Harry rose to his feet with a soft smile on his face and kissed Draco's cheek with ease before ruffling his hair and taking his glass of wine.

The house-elf popped in with a tray of drinks and another of desert which he placed on the coffee table before leaving with a pop.

Lucius smiled at the display of his mate and son. How could he ever act jealous when his mate was treating like son… like a son?

Draco looked up to Harry, his eyes glazed as he looked on the other teen. In that moment, he realized a few things. His veela side was recognizing the connection between his father and Harry and it was backing down -like the son of an Alpha wolf would back down in the presence of another Alpha wolf. He and his father had been the top of the Malfoy family before, but now that Draco's veela side could sense the connection with Harry to his father, he was backing down from his position to give it to Harry. Another thing Draco noticed, besides his submissiveness to Harry's new station, was that Harry's touch and presence calmed him more so than his father's did. His father's presence made him want to stick his chest out and fight any who would come close to their home or family; yet Harry's presence seemed to do the opposite by soothing his soul and placating him to a mellow level.

_They are perfect for each other._ Draco thought that his father _must_ feel this with his mate around -feel _whole_ and balanced. Draco merely had to be in their presence and he felt balanced in an odd way. They were each the perfect contrast to the other.

A sudden swoon came over Draco and he couldn't support himself anymore.

With a loud gasp, Draco lost his balance and would have fallen to the floor if Harry hadn't grabbed him around his waist to steady him. It seemed to work for a moment before Draco's knees gave out under him completely and both men lost their steadiness.

Harry pulled Draco close to him as they fell and twisted drastically so that he was under Draco when they hit the floor with a bang.

Lucius' eyes were wide with worry as he rushed to the teens' sides, kneeling beside them both to check for injuries.

"What happened?" Lucius demanded quickly as Harry sat up with a groan of pain and Draco in his lap. The younger blonde groaned as well, reaching a hand to his head as the room began to spin.

"Uh, I don't know." He hummed with pain and growled when it seemed to intensify. Even with the pain in his head, Draco's veela side called out for comfort and contact, and his call seemed to be answered as Harry swirled the fingers of the one hand not supporting them both in a sitting position, in Draco's hair, pulling the veela's head to his chest. Draco wanted to pull back for only a moment before he realized why Harry had done that. He wasn't quite sure if his friend knew it or not, but the beat of his steady strong heart calmed the pain in Draco's throbbing head.

Lucius sighed as he saw his son lose some of his pain. It gave him pride in his mate; his veela side had chosen the perfect mate for himself as well as someone who could fulfill a space in his son that had been empty; even though Draco had had a mother, it was nothing compared to what Harry would be for him. Lucius leaned closer to his son wrapping an arm around Draco's middle to offer his warmth and veela power to Draco who sighed contentedly, seeming too dazed to react to reality as he floated in and out of awareness.

"He's got a fever." Harry announced as he used the hand in Draco's soft hair to thread through his locks to his forehead and feel it. Both veela and mate locked eyes sadly and sighed at the same time, looking back to Draco who seemed to be falling asleep against Harry. "I think perhaps that he was overwhelmed by emotions and all of what has been going on lately. He must be more stressed than either of us with all of his worrying and his job." He surmised. "He seemed very tired and weary at dinner."

The older veela nodded with a small smile. "Your presence comforts him." Lucius told his mate.

Harry chuckled once. "I suppose." After some thought Harry looked up to Lucius. "Don't you think we should get him to his room so he can sleep?"

"Yes." The blonde rose, then bent to pick up his son into his arms easily. "Would you go get that potion for fevers?"

Harry rose from the floor as well and nodded a few times. "Is it with the others?"

"Yes, it's red though."

Harry strode from the room to get the potion, holding the door open for Lucius as he exited with his precious bundle starting to squirm in his arms.

"I'll go get that potion." Harry murmured as he rushed for the potions' cabinet.

Lucius began moving toward the stairs, feeling an unending supply of strength inside him now that Draco was 'in danger', as his other side looked at it. However, Lucius couldn't begin his trek up the stairs because Draco was beginning to fidget too badly. He began moaning in pain and let out a whine of desperation.

"Harry!" Lucius called loudly and the brunet trotted up to the blonde quickly from seemingly nowhere.

"Yes." He watched as Draco struggled tirelessly against his father.

"Touch his forehead." Lucius commanded, and Harry slowly obliged. After the contact had been made Draco seemed to calm almost immediately though he was still unconscious with his eyes closed.

Draco was beginning to sweat profusely, but it seemed there was nothing that couldn't be quelled by having his father and Harry close to him because he made no noise now that he was in contact with both.

"This is curious." Harry whispered aloud.

"This is all from our kiss." Lucius told him as they began to climb the stairs together.

"What?" Harry demanded sharply with a raised brow.

"As we connected in that kiss you felt a bit of me and I felt a bit of you, but my connection to Draco by blood caused my connection with you to transfer to him as well because now his veela side recognizes you as a parent of some sort, so he is soothed by your presence just as a Childe is soothed by their Sire's presence. Do you understand?" Lucius answered.

"Yes, I suppose. Just out of curiosity… if we were to never get together would this connection I now have with Draco continue forever?"

"Yes." Lucius nodded once shortly, not liking the idea of talking about such a thing, but his mate was asking him questions and he _would_ answer.

As they approached Draco's rooms, Harry reached away from Draco to open the door for Lucius and shut it behind them. When Lucius placed Draco on the bed the younger veela began to move uncomfortably again. Harry handed the potion to Lucius, then sat on the bed beside Draco's pillow, reaching over and stroking the blonde's hair softly which seemed to quell Draco once again, though he still fidgeted slightly.

Lucius sat down in front of Harry and opened Draco's mouth feeding him the potion with one hand as he stroked his son's throat with the other, encouraging the man to swallow, which he did.

With both the potion and contact, Draco stilled peacefully, leaning his head into the touches Harry gave him and blindly reaching his hand for his father. He grabbed and got a good grasp on Lucius' shirt and robes firmly.

Harry snickered at the veela. "I think he wants us to stay with him."

"Obviously." Lucius sighed as he was suddenly tugged closer by Draco which inadvertently pulled the older man against Harry's shoulder, toppling them backwards onto the pillows above Draco's head.

Both men stared at each other in silence for a moment until Lucius leaned closer to his mate for another kiss.

"Down boy!" Harry called out, slithering out from under Lucius easily, then before Lucius could move up, Harry had his knee pressed firmly into the blonde's back to keep him still. "You have _got_ to control yourself." He insisted. "You can't just keep mauling me like this, so why don't you back off for a while, hmm?"

"Of course." Lucius managed with a grunt of pain. "As you wish."

"Good." Harry smiled and patted Lucius' shoulder. "Be good and we'll get along _just fine_." With one more glance to Draco to make sure the potion had calmed him so he wouldn't be flipping out any time soon, Harry fled the room at a smooth gait.

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A/N: This was fun! I liked writing this bit. It delves a bit more into the veela society and the way shit works. You may be asking yourselves why this is so short? Well, that's because the next chapter is going to get very long… and slightly… no, I won't ruin the surprise. -laughs evilly-

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Anyway… **_Reviews:_**

**Chekiita**: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I was worried about it, but I think that things have gone at a good pace and now I can start accelerating. You know? I'm looking forward to writing the next chappie even if it willl be a bit... trying on me.

**Xikum:** Good to know you like the fluffiness. Everyone seems to like the fluffiness. May I ask you a question? Have you read a lot of Harry Potter fanfics? Have you read many where people pair Mione up with Draco? I've only seen one before, but everyone seems to think I'm going to put those two characters together... I was just wondering if it was an average thing, or not.

**Griffen48035:** Yeah, Lucius, the sneaky bastard. -smirk- And the kissing begins! Hale the author... or not.

**Kiri:** -blush- Best chapter? You flatter me... I think. Anyway, happy you liked it. Hope this one went over half as well as I planthe next one to.

**Aisling Siobhan:** I have a question for you, actually. I was wondering if the pairing DracoxHermione was an average one. Everyone seems to think they'll be together, and I wonder if that' my sly author-ship or if it's because it's such an overdone thing.

**The Fifth Marauder:** I'm sorry. I was going to attempt to write your Indian name, but I didn't want to ruin it terribly or anything. That's a cool name though! You will understand the whole 'Draco Hermione' thing in due time. I don't want to ruin that. And Ron... I mentioned him and his child Daniel in the beginning, but I think he might end up popping up before the end. I don't like him much, so I rarely put him in my stories unless he's easy to write, you know? I'd rather not work twice as hard trying to make him sound realistic if I don't have to. **-**raises hand-Yes, I _am_ the laziest person alive.

**Strega:** -blush- Thanks. You always bring a smile to my face whenever I read your reviews. Your sense of humor is so close to mine, it's scary. -snicker- I know _you'll_ enjoy the next chapter... at least I hope so. Sorry this was short, but the next one should be long, so... I don't know... I might end up running it by you before I put it up and get your advice on whether I should change it or not. I don't know... I'll email you beforehand if I decide to do that. It's okay, isn't it?

**Morgan Eddasil:** Do I have any fanart? You mean, someone drawing something of my story? Believe it or not, yes. -blush- Strega drew me a pic of Lucius kissing Harry. I love it. She even colored it for me! I just opened my email and one day I had this strange email and there it was, a random reviewer who drew me this awesome pic. She's my best writing buddy now. -wink-

**Dangelic Fantasy:** Ha!-snort- -ROFLMAO- I like you! You're brilliant.

**Kyaku-kun:** Happy you liked the kising bit. Didn't want it to get too heated too quickly, you know?

**Lykaios Nyx:** You liked the reading scene? I thought that was rather brilliant too. I would love to do that with my boyfriend if he liked to read... -sigh- Your review made my chest puff out stupidly and I got all proud and cocky for about two seconds... it was a nice feeling. Thanks bunches! Harry taking the Dreamless Sleep potion was -waves hand- _kinda_ relevant to the story. I mean, I did fit it in later with Lucius' bad sleeping habits, but it's not detrimental to the plot or anything. Thank you for reviewing me. -smiles- Hope you enjoyed this chappie too, even if it was a bit short.

**Jenna:** It's good to know you like the way the plot is going. I hope you tell me if there's something that irks you about it. I hate reading stories with little details that aren't right or something. It bothers me to no end, but I'm happy you liked it.

**Snape Seraphim:** Nice name! I adore it! You only reviewed like four days ago and i"m already updating; cool, neh? -smile- Don't get too used to it. I update every two weeks... you just happened to review really close to my update time. -smile- You'll find out about the 'Hermione-Draco situation' (as I like to call it)later in the story, so you'll have to wait for that.

**Snuffles:** Yeah, I didn't want to just drop the whole 'Sneaky Slytherin' bit. I mean, Lucius may be a veela, but that doesn't mean he wasn't in Slytherin. -smirks- Glad you liked that bit.

**Serena:** HA! There is a girl named Serena in my story. I thought it was such a lovely name. Hope it doesn't bother you... makes you wonder if anyone named Harry reads the Harry Potter books. I never like reading books with my name in them because it's so damn annoying, but I guess other people don't mind. You'll find out about Draco and Hermione, and what's up with them later in the story. -smirk- I only told one person what I was doing with them, and they promised to keep quiet so you'll just have to wait it out like the rest. -smiles evilly-

**Ahappyjtm:** -bows back to fabulous reviewer- Thank you for your encouragement. It's only for reviewers like you all that I continue this story. I'm kind of looking forward to the ending too because I have another story in the wings to be put out after this one. I would put it out now, but I doubt I could keep up my schedule for updating if I had both out. I might just get lazy that way, and that's not fair to you all.

* * *

A/N: You are _all_ fabulous and I love you to death! Thank you for reviewing -cough cough- I mean _reading_, and I hope you enjoyed the show! 


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Damn! This is a _long_ one!

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Chapter 16

It had taken a few hours of peace from his son for Lucius to be able to leave him alone and be satisfied that he would be alright.

Once he'd finally pulled himself from Draco's sleeping side, he decided he should probably get something to eat, or at least nibble on, before bed. It was nearly midnight and he hadn't heard a peep from Draco for nearly three hours. The fever seemed to have passed within the hour of taking the potion and his fidgeting had calmed less than half an hour after that. Even with all of this, Lucius had decided to sleep in Draco's room in the armchair he had claimed as his for whenever he visited his son's wing of the house. He knew Draco would be fine, but his fatherly instincts wouldn't let him leave his son alone until he had awoken again and proved his health.

After a quick bite he would return to his son's side. He briefly wondered where Harry was, but, judging by the time, his mate was probably already asleep.

When Lucius entered the Dining Room he was quite surprised to see Harry sitting at the table, and in _his_ chair!

The veela cocked his head to the side as he stepped closer and Harry glanced up at him before returning to his bowl of steaming porridge.

There goes his assumption of Harry being asleep.

"What are you doing?" Lucius asked him softly with a slightly rough and unused voice.

"Eating." Harry answered, taking a small spoonful into his mouth whilst he looked up at Lucius, as if to ask, _What does it look like I'm doing?_

"You're in my chair." Lucius pointed out and Harry looked at him; silently replying with a raised brow, _So?_

The blonde guessed that having your own chair of station wasn't really something that Harry understood yet. The chair at the head of the table was for the Head of House whether he was present in the building or not, it was to be left vacant for him to acknowledge his stature. Instead of arguing it over, Lucius merely sat on Harry's right and the teen gave him a nod of acknowledgement.

"Couldn't sleep?" Lucius asked his mate softly.

"I had too much energy in me to sleep." Was his response along with another spoonful of lumpy slop. Good thing it tasted better than it looked, or he would have puked just from the sight of it. "How has Draco been?"

Lucius smiled at the other man. He had guessed that Harry would eventually inquire about Draco and it caused a soft warm flush to flare in his chest before it calmed once again to a dull sweet ache that he always felt around his mate -it was the wonderfully sweet assurance that his mate was alive and alright at all times. The ache was like a heartbeat; when it was still Lucius knew something was wrong, and when it ached sweetly like now, he knew things were fine. Yet another side effect of the kiss they had shared.

"Draco has been sleeping peacefully for a few hours. I only came down here for a quick bite before returning."

Harry looked the blonde's tired frame over and cocked his head at the blonde. "You look exhausted. How about _I_ stay with Draco tonight to make sure he gets through the night alright and _you_ get rest?" It wasn't much of question, or a suggestion, but Lucius still felt capable to argue against the firm decision.

"I think not. You are equally as worry-worn and drained as myself. I am fine with staying with Draco tonight. It isn't a duty. He is well enough to stay alone, but I feel it is my parental right to sleep beside my son in case he needs me at all. Do you understand?"

Harry rolled his eyes in frustration. "Of course, and I also feel some kind of odd urge to be by his side," he spoke seriously, "but it's perfectly absurd for us both to sleep with him, so how about we come to a compromise? Hmm?" Harry queried with a raised brow as he took a sip of cold water, leaving the compromise up to Lucius to decide.

The veela sat in contemplative thought for a short time before his eyes suddenly came alight with mischief.

"Here is the only compromise I am willing to make with you." He started and immediately had Harry's full curious attention. "You may guard our Draco tonight while I rest in my own room, but tomorrow you must allow me to baby you and take care of you as you deserve for the entire day."

"Excuse me?" Harry questioned with a frown. He didn't quite understand the compromise, nor what Lucius was getting out of this besides a good night sleep.

"You haven't had anyone to take care of you completely before as if you were a prince, correct? I would like to do this for you. I would like to -in a sense- be your servant for tomorrow and take care of your every whim and treat you as the royalty you deserve for the wonderful person you are." Lucius' eyes showed nothing but the sincerity in his voice.

Harry looked at him warily. "You want to treat me like a prince?" He asked.

"Yes." Lucius nodded.

"What's the catch?" The teen's eyes narrowed.

"You have to not argue with anything I wish to pamper you with." Lucius responded with a small smirk. "You can't do anything without me with you so you don't have to lift a finger the entire day. If I want you to lounge about while I fluff a pillow for your feet or read to you, you have to endure whatever I see fit."

Harry saw a bit of Slytherin in the blonde's eyes, but also sincere desire to do as he spoke. Lucius wanted to take care of him as any mate desired to do every once in a while. Was he seriously thinking of accepting this?

"Everyone deserves to be treated special at least once in a while, and I would like tomorrow to be your day." Lucius finished with a warm smile.

Harry sighed, not really seeing a downside to the argument, so he finally nodded a few times before meeting the blonde's eyes.

"That sounds lovely." He answered wearily and Lucius rewarded his kind words with a bright smile which quickly turned into a smirk as he saw the mechanics in Lucius' mind spin and work as he planned and schemed the next day completely.

"Good night, Harry." Lucius told his mate as he stood, ruffling Harry's messy hair before exiting the room with a long sure stride.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ The dark-haired teen asked himself as he continued with his porridge.

After finishing the meal, Harry called for a house-elf to take his dishes with a 'Thank you' and left for Draco's room.

As Harry entered Draco's bedroom silently, the younger blonde's eyes cracked open and he blearily looked up at him before his eyes shown with recognition and he almost seemed to bow his head as Harry approached.

Harry sat beside Draco smoothly on the bed's edge and reached out a hand unconsciously to stroke Draco's soft hair.

"Draco, how are you?"

"Better." Draco answered, leaning up onto his elbow, nudging Harry's hand to continue what it was doing.

"Draco, can I ask something of you?" Harry asked softly.

"Of course." Draco replied as he met Harry's gaze unflinchingly.

"Today, when I asked if you would acknowledge me as your parent, I didn't mean for you to do so. I had not meant to trigger your veela side into submission at all. I was merely curious, and when your veela side seemed to acknowledge me, I worried that we would change. Lucius and I are nowhere near together yet and if that doesn't happen, I didn't… I don't want us to be different… well, not really. I still want us to be able to say everything to each other like before and still be able to keep some secrets from Lucius -whether he and I are together or not- and only to ourselves, but I also know that you can draw comfort from me -because of your veela side's acceptance- in more of parental way and if you need to, I want you to draw from me like that. You get it? This should only draw us closer, not farther apart. I hope that being your friend and… whatever I am… we will be closer than even your father and you are. That's all that I meant by asking you that earlier. You don't have to think that I'm higher in the ranks than you. You can still joke. We can still prank one another. You can still swear and cuss at me to your little black heart's content, etc."

Draco snickered as he sat up completely and looked levelly into Harry's eyes. "I'd love that." He nodded once and they both laughed. "Does this mean that you have accepted my father completely?" He questioned with a great deal of hope shining through on his face.

Harry looked back without glancing away from those blue/silver eyes as he debated the issue in his head.

"I have not completely accepted Lucius, but…" He looked away, then back to Draco. "We have a confidence, right? You won't go telling your father?"

The blonde was torn over this for only a moment before he nodded honestly to his confidant.

Harry sighed in relief as he opened his mouth and continued. "There's something _there_." Harry whispered breathlessly. Draco watched in shock as emotion and power seemed to swirl and grind away at Harry as he released all of his emotion -allowing them to touch him without restraining them so he could honestly tell Draco all of what he had been feeling lately, using his hands to show emphasis. Draco was continuously amazed at how Harry was able to subdue almost all of his emotion to later go over in this manner. It must have been one of his Auror skills, but it was quite beautiful to watch because as a 'Dark Creature' Draco could actually _see_ the aura and emotions rage around Harry at times like this. "I feel something deep for Lucius. After he kissed me, I found myself wanting to touch him back and it startled me. I wasn't sure if it was because of the kiss or not, but… There are issues we have to talk about -him and I- but I think it's going somewhere." He blushed slightly as he looked up to Draco with bright eyes. He pulled his glasses off in frustration and rubbed tiredly at the bridge of his nose.

Draco studied Harry for a while before he spoke. "What about the kiss?" He asked eagerly, though he tried to subdue himself slightly for his pride's sake.

"What about it?" Harry asked as he pushed his glasses back onto his face so that he could look over them at Draco, though the image was slightly blurred because of his bad vision. He had tried a vision spell on himself a while back, but it had eventually worn off to the point where people were blurry again, but at least he could tell who was who now.

"Did it give you a spark? Were there explosions? Did the world suddenly clear up and you saw your soul mate? Was-?" Draco stopped abruptly at the look Harry was giving him over his glasses -one brow raised high as the other furrowed and looked at him saying, _You know better._

"You've been reading too many romance novels." Harry responded with a flippant sigh. "No, there were no explosions, or sparks. It was… I was surprised at first. He just… Damn!" He growled in frustration as he tried to sort his thoughts out and not confuse Draco further. "First thing I knew when I woke from my nap was that I was being kissed. He pulled back, I got up, we shared words, he suddenly decides to kiss me again without warning and it… took me aback. I didn't react to him at first, then it felt like something inside me was pulling my stomach out through my throat. I was engulfed by this alluring power coming from Lucius, but… it didn't feel like the 'veela allurement' that I felt from Fleur in Fourth Year. It was more of a loving tug." He shook his head, trying to clear his emotions from clouding his mind. "It felt… good, I guess." He murmured and Draco smiled so wide he looked like a Cheshire Cat, though Harry wasn't looking at him. "I almost think it felt… right… but that can't be right."

"Why can't it?" Draco argued abruptly, his own heart fluttering madly.

"How _can_ it!" Harry shouted and stood to pace the room suddenly. "I've known him for such a short amount of time-"

"That's the power of us, Harry! That's the power of Veela! Our mates are made for us!"

"I understand that, but… it just seems too impossible that love can be found and built in mere days." He looked to the ceiling. "I realize that you Veela make a lot of odd things possible, but I just… guess I need to have more time with him to figure myself out. He made me promise to spend tomorrow with him."

Draco perked up at that. "Really? That's great." He smirked. "I'll make sure to leave you two alone." He winked suggestively.

Harry sighed. He had nothing more to add to this conversation.

* * *

Lucius gazed on Harry as he stirred his porridge continuously without really eating much of it. 

_More porridge._ He thought with a hidden grimace. _He likes that stuff?_

The teen finally sighed heavily as he looked wearily around the room, and finally at Lucius for a short time.

Through the open curtains streamed bright sunshine which should have brightened his day, but he felt slightly wary about the day's upcoming events.

"I'm done with breakfast." Harry murmured reluctantly as he stood from his seat on Lucius' right.

Lucius nodded as he stood from _his_ chair. He had woken quite early in the morning, bathed, woken Draco -the grump- for an early meal, then sent his son off as he awaited his mate to awaken an hour or so later. Draco had wished him good luck with his mate and strode off to work promising his father that he felt fine and he _had_ to speak with his associates and today was good enough a day as any.

The veela silently led the way to his room, with Harry walking only a step behind him toward this unknown part of the Manor. Instead of taking the long way, which led by his Aunt's portrait, he went a shortcut, so the old bat wouldn't insult his Harry. He desperately desired for this day to go smoothly. He _prayed_ this day would go smoothly.

Once they had reached his doors, Lucius opened one door for Harry and allowed the slightly shorter man to enter before him with a slight bow.

He shut the door securely behind them and gestured to the room they stood in. "These are my rooms, in case you were wondering. I hope you remember how to get up here, but I'll show you again if you don't."

The dark-haired youth nodded numbly. "I remember." He mumbled. "Do we really have to do this?" Harry asked with a defeated look that seemed uncharacteristic of his features as he looked around the lavish Sitting Room.

"_You_ agreed." Lucius responded with a small triumphant smile as he looked his mate up and down once.

The Auror looked back warily. He had indeed agreed to this, but it just made him too uncomfortable now that the task came down to completing it. Lucius noted this with a sad frown.

"Have faith." The veela whispered to him gently, and their eyes connected. "I only want to pamper you. All I want is to take care of you like you've deserved for ad infinitum."

The dark-haired teen breathed in deeply and let his breath out with a sigh. "What do you want me to do?"

"Feel… enjoy…" Lucius answered as he smiled at the other man. "Draco says Muggles call it 'spa treatment'." He stated as he led his mate to the door after the fireplace on the left of when you walk in. He opened it and stepped in with Harry following behind him shortly.

Harry let out a laugh. "Okay. Now what?" He admired the marble and grandeur of the bathing room before looking back to Lucius curiously. He tried to hide any kind of anxiety, but the blonde only looked at him with gentle loving eyes.

"Disrobe down to your undergarments and lay down on the chaise in the Sitting Room face down for a massage." He instructed as he turned to leave his lavish bathroom.

"Er, uh, Lucius?"

The veela turned gracefully back to look on his mate calmly with a raised brow.

"I don't…" Harry paused a moment in nervousness, then ran a hand through his hair and forced himself to remember that he was no longer a school boy. He took a deep breath and decided this day would be very embarrassing if he was shy about himself and insecure. "I don't wear anything under my clothes." He finally said with a straight face and a confident demeanor that Lucius enjoyed. The blonde was taken aback for a moment before he smiled warmly.

"You can wear something of mine if you'll be more comfortable, or you can go in the raw, though I'll cover you with a sheet, of course. I intend to give you a massage." The veela in Lucius drew a great deal of pleasure from the thought that his mate might wear some of his clothes, or perhaps nothing at all.

"Boxers, if you have them." Harry replied.

Lucius nodded as he left Harry alone.

Knowing that Lucius wouldn't ever harm him intentionally, and knowing he could get up and walk away if he wanted, he began to undress -pulling off his jacket first.

Lucius stepped back into the bathroom just in time to see Harry pull the ends of his shirt over his head, exposing his lean muscle, toned chest, and broad shoulders exquisitely to his blonde watcher. Trying to keep his mouth closed, and his eyes and breathing calm, Lucius schooled his face to a tranquil mask as Harry's face popped out of his shirt and he saw Lucius. He continued pulling the shirt off his arms as he looked over at the veela in the doorway. As he walked over to Lucius, Harry tossed his shirt onto the empty vanity counter taking up a great deal of the corner.

"What have you got for me?" He queried, stepping closer to the blonde.

Lucius held a pair of silk boxers out to Harry, who took them with a sigh. "Thanks."

"I'll be waiting for you in the Sitting Room." Lucius announced as he left to change into more comfortable clothes for his task.

After stripping down completely, Harry pulled the silk boxers on and shivered as the material rubbed against himself.

_Merlin, how does he go through a day wearing these?_ The teen thought as he tried to get his mind off the feel of the garment. He stepped out of the bathroom and into the Sitting Room, where Lucius awaited him on the long leather couch opposite of the roaring fireplace and beside the chaise.

"If you lay down, we can start." The veela gestured to a velvet chaise with a small table holding various oils, scents, cloths, powders, etc.

With a sigh Harry laid himself on the chaise so his feet lay on the backrest; he propped himself up on his elbows and cocked his head to the side to stare at Lucius.

"Now what?"

Lucius smirked at the man that he was now being allowed to touch; his mate. "Now we begin." He purred as he stood and walked over to his prize. Lucius sat on the edge of the chaise, his hip barely touching his mate's. He pulled a sheet from atop the chaise and covered Harry's lower body reluctantly with it.

"What now?" Harry asked as Lucius uncorked a large bottle of oil that immediately brought the smell of juniper to Harry's nose.

Before Lucius had time to react, Harry had swiftly sat up and leaned over him, grabbing the bottle in his hand (whilst grabbing his hand as well) and pulling the bottle to his nose for closer inspection.

This was the closest Lucius could remember Harry willingly getting to him, and he relished the situation as he took this time to smell Harry as well. His mate's neck was mere inches from his mouth.

"Is this juniper?" Harry asked in a heavenly voice.

"Yes." Gods! What that voice did to him!

"What's it for?"

"It goes on your skin. It's like a soothing ointment. It's supposed to help you relax and take away any aches you have."

Harry nodded with a smile. "That's the spice it's diluted with then?"

"You can smell the spice?" Lucius queried in shock. It awed him that someone without heightened senses could catch the taint to the smell.

"Well, no, but I've smelled juniper raw before and it doesn't bite at my nose like the smell of this does, so I assumed it had a spice in it."

"How perceptive." The blonde murmured, smirking at his mate.

Harry shrugged before releasing his hand and spinning gracefully to lay back the way he was, and propping himself on his elbows. He watched as Lucius poured the oil into this hand, placing the bottle down and corking it before rubbing his hands together slowly.

"This might be cold." The veela warned as he hovered his hands over Harry's back.

Harry glanced back at the man behind him nervously, but sighed, suddenly deciding he would trust the blonde instead of worrying like this. He reached back and rounded up his long black locks, twirling them together and holding them over his shoulder as he leaned down and rested his body on the chaise.

Lucius awed at the beauty of his mate before reaching to touch again.

"Wait." Harry breathed softly. It wasn't a denial, just a delay which caused Lucius to pull his hands back as Harry moved again, reaching a long strong arm back and silently calling a pillow from the couch to his hand which he promptly placed under his head before adjusting and nodding once for Lucius to continue. "I'm alright now."

When Lucius finally connected his slick hands with Harry's back, both fought down a growl of pleasure. He began slicking the oil over Harry's entire back before starting to push down more roughly on the tight shoulders. His mate began to make noises that almost caused him to stop, but he continued.

Moans, groans, gasps, soft cries when he touched a sensitive area were almost his undoing!

His hands roamed and plundered all over the youth's back, down and down until he reached the slim hips. Harry looked to be enjoying himself immensely. He almost looked to have fallen asleep as the knots and aches were worked away from his body.

When Lucius' hand slid over Harry's right hip, the youth's hand shot out and snatched his wrist back tightly, twisting it slightly as he sat up and on his side to glare a sleepy warning at the blonde.

"What-?" Lucius began with a frown, not really seeing what he'd done wrong, but Harry's expression changed back, as if he'd only been startled.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Harry told him with a small smile. "I have a scar there and it's just very tender. I was nearly asleep and you just surprised me."

The veela nodded once in understanding as his wrist was released.

Harry leaned back down onto the chaise on his side, exposing his hip for Lucius to see more clearly. He lifted his hand to Lucius. "Let me see your hand." Harry whispered softly.

Lucius obliged and Harry moved his hand so only two figures were outstretched.

"You can't see the scar because the medi-witches fixed it up so well, but it was a nasty wound. You can feel it, though." Harry brought the blonde's fingers to his skin and delicately swirling them over his hip.

Lucius gasped slightly at the groove and texture of the skin where he could _feel_ the scar. It had definitely been a deep one. Though there was no discoloration, he could feel the fresh new hairless skin that smoothed over the area. It caused a flare of possessive anger to shoot through him.

Who _dared _to harm his mate like this!

"Who hurt you?" He demanded his question with a growl very deep in his throat.

Harry looked up to the man behind him, slightly startled, but also smiling slightly.

"There's nothing you could do about it." Harry told him with a shake of his head.

"I doubt that." Lucius snapped back, but Harry merely laughed at him before squeezing the hand in his to calm the irate man down.

"I mean that there is actually nothing you could do about it, whether you knew his name or not. I had my saber in his chest, piercing his lung when he pulled a knife from his waist and stabbed me before dying. There is nothing more you can do to harm the man."

"Does he have any relatives?" He asked coldly. He wasn't expecting the laugh, that's probably why he nearly fell off the chaise when it happened. His mate just began laughing a hearty laugh that made Lucius pause everything, including his heartbeat as he admired the beauty before him. He'd never heard such music previously. It felt natural to place his hand on the youth's abdomen as he threw his dark head back and let out louder peels of laughter.

When he had finally let it all out, Harry sat back up onto his elbow and looked up to Lucius with a flushed face and a slight tear in his eye which he wiped away with a smile.

"Oh, man, I haven't laughed like that in ages." He smiled adorably up at the blonde for a moment. "You're so protective, it's cute."

"And you are beautiful when you smile… and when you laugh… and…" He just dropped off what he was saying and leaned closer.

"I get the picture." Harry responded softly with a blush. He looked curiously at Lucius who was squinting at him slightly. "What?" He asked with a raised brow. The man was looking at his face as if there was something wrong, or that he was looking for something that was hidden behind a hair or freckle. "_What_!" He demanded after he started to become self-conscious and was looking at the blonde like he was crazy. Tentatively Lucius reached out his hands and took his mate's glasses and removed them from his face gently, whilst still looking crucially at Harry. Once the glasses were gone and Harry was slightly squinting to get a better view of Lucius without his glasses, the blonde's eyes finally widened with a smile.

"There you are." He murmured and Harry blushed at him before smiling goofily and slapping Lucius on the arm playfully.

"If you wanted to take them off, you should have said something instead of looking at me stupid!"

Lucius smiled slightly as he shook his head. "The look on your face was priceless." He shrugged. "Would you like me to continue, or shall we proceed to something more?"

"I think you've abused me enough." Harry teased after a moment of thought as he sat up -his hand firmly covering his right hip.

The blonde snorted at the absurdity of that thought. "Let's move on then." He stood and gestured for Harry to remain as he stalked over to the bathroom and disappeared inside.

Soon, the sounds of water pouring into a tub could be heard and not long after that steam began to pour from the bathroom, rolling along the ceiling.

Lucius reappeared at the doorway and moved to crack the windows open before moving toward Harry with a brush in hand. "May I?" He asked with a raised brow.

Harry shrugged and sat up straight so Lucius could stand behind him and brush his long locks to take out any snarls from the big ebony curls.

"You like your hair long?" Lucius asked him as he ran his fingers through the silky hair to see if he'd gotten all the knots.

"It's just hair." Harry replied. "It's a nice look, I suppose, but I only keep it this long because it weighs down my hair from sticking straight up. It's either keep it long, or shave it off."

"Gods, please don't shave it!" Lucius put in with a pout and a wince.

Harry laughed softly. "Not planning on it." He responded, smiling. He turned from Lucius' hands to look up at the blonde. "I like your hair too, you know."

Lucius was taken aback by this. It was getting near the middle of his back and if he'd had any time to leave, he would have had his barber cut it to a more fashionable length. "I was going to have it cut." He proclaimed and was shocked by the outrage he saw on the youth's face.

"No!" Harry cried out as he stood quickly. He began to reach out for Lucius' hair, but stopped himself.

"Go ahead." Lucius whispered breathily, each of them on one side of the chaise. He leaned forward, kneeling on the chaise so that he looked up into his mate's endless orbs of emerald. If his mate liked his hair long, then long was how it would stay.

The dark-haired man hesitated for a while before tentatively reaching forward and running both of his hands through the veela's hair from each of his temples. Lucius couldn't help the shiver that shot down his spine at the feeling of his mate's hands in his hair. He gasped softly and leaned into the touch like a puppy yearning for its master's affection.

"Keep going." Lucius begged, his eyes glazed over as he looked up to his mate.

"Lucius." The name sounded like an endearment in another language as it left his lips and it caused the blonde to shiver again. "May I ask you about when you were a Death Eater?"

Lucius' clouded eyes cleared slightly at hearing the question, but because the fingers continued their quest through his hair he remained half in the world of nirvana.

"Ask at your leisure." He responded with a slight moan.

"I've been an Auror for nearly a year and… I've seen some pretty terrible things that Death Eaters have done. I've seen some very cruel rapes and _horrible_ deaths in the name of Voldemort-"

Lucius took hold of both of Harry's hands to keep him from speaking further. He pulled both hands to his lips and kissed each on the back, then palm.

"I have _never_ raped a soul in my life." He promised with his eyes locked with Harry's. "Not unlike you though, I have killed many people." He sighed heavily. "Some were younger than I would have preferred. I did attempt to kill your friend in your Second Year with that journal, but never have I killed one younger than her. I daresay that I can count the amount of children I've killed on one hand." He vowed as he placed one of Harry's hands over his heart. "I swear this to you on my honor." He spoke strongly and Harry felt a great deal of relief flow into him. Without even realizing it had been there, Lucius had torn down Harry's last restraint.

"Thank the gods!" He cried out. The veela's eyes widened at the teary eyes of his mate. Harry pulled Lucius' left arm up until it wrapped around his neck, then turned his head and affectionately kissed the junction at his elbow, sending waves of pleasure through Lucius. Harry then brought Lucius' other arm to join his left around his shoulders as he wrapped his arms quickly around the blonde's waist and pulled their mouths together roughly.

(Sex scene edited out.)

(Just kidding!)

(You have been warned! Skip this bit if you like. It goes until the next page break. It's detailed, but I should hope that it's not too bad. )

When their mouths finally separated, their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room aside from the crackling fire in the background.

"Harry!" Lucius ground out in surprise. "That…"

"That was only the beginning, my veela." Harry responded in a deep sultry voice, pulling the blonde forward again to begin trekking a slow passionate pace of kisses over the fair skin of Lucius' jaw to his sensitive ear. The veela cried out when the skin under his ear was nipped at, then licked over to soothe the redness.

'_My veela'! _Lucius repeated in his mind. _Oh, gods! Could it really have been this simple? To show him that I'm not an evil bastard that deserved his time in Azkaban? To show him that I am worthy of his affections? To show that I love him? He wants me! He wants us together!_

Lucius' hands roamed over Harry's back, feeling and memorizing every dip and curve, every flex of muscle as the teen took his body as his own. His hands soon moved to his dark-haired lover's hips, pulling their groins together for more contact. He wanted to touch all of his mate; now!

Harry groaned as he pushed harder against Lucius before suddenly pulling back and taking Lucius' face in one hand, so they were looking directly into each others eyes.

"Do you want this?" He asked huskily. "Do you want me? Do you want us?"

Lucius smirked predatorily at his mate. "Yes." He answered with a hiss.

"I can't hear you." Harry whispered into his ear with his own smirk before licking the shell of Lucius' ear.

The blonde gasped, then growled as he rubbed his groin against his mate's. "Yes!" He hissed louder as he began littering kisses over Harry's neck.

"You don't mind if I…" He licked the gully at the base of Lucius' neck, then nipped gently at the collarbone, "… top, do you?"

The blonde stilled as those words made their way into his brain. _Top? I thought I…? Well, it doesn't matter how we're together, does it? The point is that we're finally together._

"Take me gently." Lucius murmured back into his mate's ear. "I'm virgin to that." The blonde felt Harry shiver pleasurably at the sound of his voice. The man growled with desire as he started unbuttoning Lucius' shirt.

"Then we share that." Harry murmured, his hazy eyes clouded with passion. "You were pouring a bath?"

Lucius chuckled softly as they stood and moved toward the bathroom as best they could without separating from each other.

Before they had even reached the three steps to the bath Harry had divested Lucius of all but his silk boxers.

"You and silk." Harry snorted as he knelt before the golden angel, kissing his way down, delving his tongue into the belly just above the boxers rim.

The veela's breathing picked up drastically as he watched that mouth move over him until he could feel hot breath across his clothed erection. He felt his knees weaken as he watched, mesmerized, as Harry's tongue darted out of his mouth to lick at his bulge, before slicking up the cloth from base to tip.

"Oh, gods, Harry! Don't tease!" He begged before crying out as a whole mouth took in his tip around his boxers, then released it and blew on the spot.

"But you look so pretty when you're flushed, Lucius." The teen purred seductively, his hot breath caressing the moist cloth beside his face. Harry's fingers slid smoothly over the blonde's legs, up his thighs, into his boxers, and up to the waist of the cloth. Lucius gazed on with rapt attention as the hands inside his boxers lifted the material over his swollen member and down his legs slowly.

Carefully, Harry tested the taste of cum from Lucius body with a swift lick to his tip. He quickly found himself addicted to the sweet taste of his veela. Lucius was certainly like nothing he had ever tasted before, though he admittedly hadn't tasted many.

His veela. Harry hadn't thought he'd be saying such things… even to himself. He found himself enjoying the feel of Lucius, the responses he was getting from him, the noises he made… the trust he bestowed in Harry by allowing the teen to dominate him… it made the wizard growl with a powerful possessive love that was steadily overtaking his senses. He had given in to his soul mate and decided to take a lead in something that should have been started a year before.

_Mine._ He thought with a smile as he stood and gathered Lucius into his arms for a very passionate kiss.

The veela didn't know where this sudden kiss came from, but he found himself melting into his mate's embrace.

_Yes… kiss… taste… love… be mine!_ The blonde reached down and caressed Harry's arousal as they kissed. Hearing and feeling the Gryffindor groan caused him to smirk into their kiss.

"Kneel." Harry ordered.

Lucius shivered at the dominant tone. He knelt down before his mate and gazed up at him, looking hungrily over his body as his mate seemed to also be doing to him.

That expression was so unreadable. Was he satisfied with what he saw? Lucius was, indeed, older than the youthful body before him. _Maybe…_

"Damn, you're hot." Harry growled out earnestly, dissolving any doubt in the blonde's mind easily. The dark-haired man quickly shoved his own boxers down and kicked them aside, letting Lucius have a moment to look him over fully before he knelt in front of Lucius and gently laid him down on his back on the furry rug beside the bath, placing his body over the blonde's.

The complete skin contact sent a thrill through both men.

_More!_ The both thought simultaneously.

Harry flicked his hand and the lights dimmed slightly. When he looked back to Lucius, their eyes connected for a long moment where neither of them moved. Slowly, Harry brought his hand to Lucius' face and caressed his smooth cheek, then that hand slithered into his golden tresses and their mouths slowly met in a chaste sweet kiss.

With another wave of his hand -without letting his gaze leave his mate's- Harry called the oils from his massage to his hand. A slow smirk grew on his face as he leaned down to Lucius' collar and nipped at the flesh just below it. Hearing the blonde moan, he began to move lower, kissing his way to a nipple.

_How wonderful._ Harry thought evilly as he watched Lucius unconsciously spread his legs wider in invitation to his mate.

It took a lot of concentration to be able to busy himself with the blonde's nipple, massage his thigh with his right hand, and use his left to cup with oil as his magic worked in unison to pour the oil into his hand for him, then place itself back on the tile -not to mention trying to ignore the ache between his own legs.

He rubbed the oil around in his hand as his right hand gently stroked Lucius' sac teasingly, and his mouth took in the blonde's other nipple to suck on mercilessly.

Lucius' eyes were clouded over with lust and passion as his back arched into both Harry's talented mouth and teasing hand. That mouth! It was heaven and hell at the same time. It was wonderful pleasure and horrible torture to his sanity.

The youth's mouth began trekking back up his body, claiming his neck roughly with sharp bites and long bouts of sucking on the same spot.

_He's making a love bite._ Lucius thought hazily as he gasped from the pleasure/pain of it, but those hands were still busy bringing him closer and closer. This love bite couldn't go unanswered. Harry was _his _after all. He leaned into the neck that was so deliciously presented to him and took hold of the succulent flesh with his lips, then teeth -grabbing the man by his hair, which was thoroughly tangled in the blonde's fingers, and pulling him as close as possible.

The man writhed under his ministrations; crying out as he made the mark.

_Damn!_ Harry thought idly as his mark was made. _He's **good**_The dark-haired man hummed his contentment as Lucius licked tenderly at the angry mark he had made which could clearly be seen on his mate's luscious neck.

Thought came back to Harry after a long while and he remembered his oily hand.

_Hmm. Can't let that go to waste…_

The veela cried out in surprise as he felt a slick digit glide over his opening.

_He's brilliant._ Lucius thought with a smirk. _Distracting me so well before…_

Nothing was really coherent, or even able to be thought of at the moment as that cool digit slid inside of him and began to move mercilessly slow.

It felt _so_ odd to have this being done to him, but Lucius certainly couldn't argue with the pleasure that was mounting in his cock.

"You're so beautiful." Harry whispered tenderly into his ear. Lucius didn't realize he was crying until his mate was licking away his tears and kissing his eyes softly whilst adding another finger to stretch him further and further. "If I hurt you, tell me."

"If you hurt me… you'll know." Was his response.

Harry smirked as his smirk was matched by his blonde lover. He reached out and brought the oil bottle into Lucius' view.

"Care to do the honors?" He asked seductively.

* * *

Lucius groaned as his eyes blinked open blearily. Had that been a dream? Damn, that had been one _hell_ of a dream! 

It wasn't until Lucius realized he was laying on the rug in his bathroom, that he realized… it hadn't been a dream.

From below him, Harry moaned loudly as the blonde moved on top of him.

The veela smiled like a Cheshire Cat as he noted their naked limbs were entwined lazily on the rug.

"Stop moving." Harry growled from under him and he stilled with a smirk in place. He must have fallen asleep on top of his mate which explained why his mate was grumpy and _he_ was comfortable. Even with the plush rug, Lucius imagined the floor was quite uncomfortable to lay on, especially with another body on top of your own weight. "I was almost asleep." He pouted.

"Never _did _make it to the bath." Lucius murmured teasingly as he slid his hand over his lover's chest, down his abdomen to smooth over his left hip.

"Hmm." The teen hummed his agreement.

"Care to try for the bed?" The blonde asked casually.

"Bath sounds better." Harry groaned as he flicked his wrist at the bath and it began to steam again, long hours after it had cooled.

"Aw, is the poor baby sore?" Lucius teased with a smirk and snicker.

Without warning Lucius was lifted magically into the air and dropped into the steaming tub, splashing water everywhere. When the blonde surfaced again and turned to glare at his mate he saw him propping his head up on his hand, his luscious body laid out on its side for Lucius to look on as he desired. A sly smirk firmly covering Harry's lips as he sneered at the blonde:

"_Poor **baby**_."

The elder Malfoy was about to protest ten different ways from Sunday, but his lover was standing and moving toward him, then sinking into the water gently atop of him, splashing more water over the side of the tub before everything settled.

Lucius couldn't bring himself to be pissed at his mate. They were relaxing in a nice hot bath after their first lovemaking… What was there to argue over?

The blonde leaned forward and kissed his lover's shoulder as the dark-haired man leaned back against his chest to rest.

"Did I hurt you?" Harry questioned tiredly.

"No." Lucius smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around his mate contentedly.

"Good." Harry sighed. He leaned his head up and captured Lucius' lips half-heartedly. They kissed for a short moment before parting and just enjoying each others embrace.

* * *

"Eva!" Draco called loudly. 

The small elf popped up beside him with a cocked head, her curious ears perked up crookedly to hear his request.

"What can Eva do for Master Draco?" She asked sweetly.

Draco's sour expression melted for a moment before he looked around the empty Dining Room. "Are they arguing again?" He asked with a groan. "I haven't heard a thing from either of them since I got home." He growled. "Where are they?"

"Master Lucius and Master's mate are in Master Lucius' personal rooms sleeping." She answered with a slight blush.

Draco's eyes widened in shock. "Sleeping!" He demanded in surprise. "Like… sleeping together? I mean… naked?"

Her blush deepened slightly as she nodded several times. "They is in the bathing room."

Draco snickered, but that soon broke out into loud fits of hysterical laughter. "It has finally happened! They're together! Work be damned! This is more interesting. How long have they been asleep?"

"They woke up little while ago, but is sleeping again."

"I see." He thought about leaving them alone to explore their love further, but the thought of disrupting them made his bad day at work just suddenly disappear all together. "Wake them, and ask them to come down for a meal." He ordered with a smile and she warily nodded before leaving with a pop.

* * *

A/N: Ah, evil Draco. Eh, don't know what you'll think of the sex scene, but if people want it out, I'll take it out.

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**Reviews:**

**Bleckybecs:** Even though you can't read many that often, I'm glad you choose to spend your time reading mine!

**F00lyJ00ly:** I DO! -cough cough- Um, thanks for the proposal and the compliments. I'm trying not to eat too many sweets though, so I think I'll stay away from the snacks for now.

**Dangelic Fantasy:** I'd be irked too if I had a new parent the same age as I am, but Draco is aristocractic and was brought up where odd things are important and his mother wasn't as close to him as his father. I think I addressed the 'mother' issue where Harry should seem more like a really close friend, rather than a 'mother'. At least, that's how I hoped to portray it.

**Pure Black:** -blushes- Thank you, darling!

**Strega: **Sorry I never got around to emailing you this chapter, but it kind of half got written like two weeks ago and the other half got written like... today and yesterday, so... I didn't have the time. -sighs- It's coming out really late in the day too. I had to see the eye doctor earlier and fork over two hundred bucks for contacts. It took a lot out of my sails.

**Chekiita:** That's all I kept thinking everytime I wrote about Lucius jumping Harry. 'Down boy!' kinda just jumped into my head and I thought it'd be cute. Thanks for the comments.

**Kyaku-kun:** This was a really long update. I hope you enjoyed it. I loved the 'down boy' bit in the last one two. It's one of my favorite lines so far.

**Dmweasley:** I'm glad when people are happy I update. It's the flames that get you down, but... thankfully I haven't gotten any of those... -knocks on wood-

**Lykaios Nyx:** I hope I covered a few of your worries in this chapter. I addressed what Harry thought of the first kiss and all that and what was going on with Draoc and Harry. I don't know about Hermione and Draco getting together. I think I promised someone I wouldn't do it because they didn't like it or something. They saw the idea long before I'd even started to hint at it, so... I don't know.

**SnapesFavorite:** Ack! No, Harry is not secretly in love with Draco... just a really good relationship because Draco is so much like Lucius that they get along better than anyone else would -like an unconscious connection. -thinks to self- I should probably write that down somewhere. Can't wait for you next chapter to come out, by the by! Eagerly twiddling my thumbs and refusing to write my story unless you write yours! -chuckle- Not _really_, but... you know what I mean.

**GothicAnn87:** Sorry this took so long... but IT'S LONG! That makes up for it, right?

**LovesEndlessCry:** You asked when they would snog each other senseless, then shag... I think I answered that question oh impatient one. -snicker- -smile- Thanks for the review!

**Saavik13:** No, Draco did not _plan_ to be sick. If I'd had you around I could have planned it like that, but... alas, no... Draco was just... overwhelmed.

**Sparkley-Tangerine:** Yah!I updated! It's long too!... Yah!

**Winstin:** Thrilled you like the story! Hope you liked this chapter too. I never thought of Lucius that way... but it is an amusing thought!

**MorganEddasil:** Eh, no, I don't have the fanart posted yet because I've been working all summer, but I might have some free time next week. If I do get it up I'll tell you. I know I have a membership somewhere... elf-something... uh, it's an art website... widely known, I think. Uh, I can't remember the name of it though... um, damn! I'm not going to be able to sleep now...! -growls- Help!

**Krystina Black:** -snicker- Glad you reviewed, even if you didn't feel like it. Thanks for your two cents. -smile-

**Hecate DeMort:** As usual, your review makes me smile. Thanks bunches, babe!

**Rlmess:** Eh,I didn't understand your question, but thanks for the review. If you rephrase your question, maybe I can help. Something about a son... um, I was thoroughly confused and I must have read it ten times already so... maybe you can help.

**And to those of you who reviewed my one-day thingy/warning:**

**Thelady:** Thanks for the warning. I wasn't planning on leaving it up there, but thank you!

**Marven:** Sorry I seemed to fool you for a moment there. -chuckles- Just trying to make it so I don't get any flames for suddenly adding sex. You got a nice long chapter this time though.

**Morgan Eaddsil:** Yes, I'm updating today you silly goose!

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A/N: I'm pooped. I think I'll go lay in my coffin now. -drags self from computer- Wake me in two weeks! 


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Umm… no comment.

Chapter 17

Lucius rejoiced in watching his mate and how beautiful he was. The sensations that ran over his face were eternally beautiful. He massaged his fingers through his mate's dark locks as he worked the shampoo in.

"Feels so good." Harry murmured incoherently, leaning against the edge of the tub, his arms spread over the lip as Lucius dipped his head back -holding his neck tenderly- as he pulled a pitcher of fresh water over and slowly poured it over his mate's hair.

"Gods, you're gorgeous." Lucius breathed heavily as he watched his mate.

"Master Lucius?" A voice squeaked, startling both men out of their reverie.

Lucius glared at Eva for a moment, before breathing his anger away. He wouldn't yell at her for disturbing him. It wasn't the end of the world. At least, that's what he kept trying to tell himself, but the thought of his moment with Harry being ruined by anyone caused him great fury.

He felt his mate sit up from where he'd been straddling him to ring out his hair as he looked innocently at Eva with a sweet smile.

"What is it, dear?" He asked calmly, knowing that Lucius would shout if given the opportunity.

"Master Draco wishes your presences for a meal, Sirs." She answered, liking Harry already -and not just because her older master was his mate.

"Please tell Draco," Harry told her sweetly with a lovely smile, "that he is a git." By the looks of it you wouldn't think he was insulting anyone. "Also tell him that if he desires to share a meal with his father and myself, then he can come up here and dine with us naked."

The elf blushed further and bowed slightly to him.

"Thank you!" Harry called to her, causing her to blush further before popping away.

When Harry turned back to Lucius, the man was grinning evilly at his mate.

"Yes?" Harry queried innocently.

"You are so evil… and perfect." Lucius told him as he leaned closer to kiss and lick at the mark he had made earlier on Harry's throat.

"I know. Now, let's get up and ready for our guest." The dark-haired man stood and called two towels to him as he stepped onto the rug where they had made love earlier that day.

Lucius was only a few steps behind him with a whine in tow at having to get up from the lovely bath.

"It was going cold anyway." Harry reasoned as he handed Lucius one of his summoned towels and quickly ran the other through his hair before wrapping it around his waist. He quickly separated his hair into three parts before braiding it roughly and slinging the shoulder-length braid over his collarbone so that it displayed the love bite on his neck proudly.

The blonde smiled lovingly at this. He stepped closer to his mate and wrapped him in his embrace from behind.

"I love you." He whispered tenderly into his ear.

Harry smiled as he pulled one of Lucius' ribbons from the counter and tied it around the bottom of his braid.

"And I…" Harry turned to Lucius and pulled him down by the back of his neck so their eyes were level, "am learning that I feel the same."

The husky answer sent shivers of pleasure down Lucius' spine. The veela ground his hips against his mate, who was stuck against the counter, as he kissed him passionately.

Before the kiss could progress to much more, Harry pushed Lucius back from him with a content smile that clearly told the blonde he was forgetting something.

"Draco." He growled as it came back to him.

"Bingo!" Harry clapped a few times before moving to the sink and brushing his teeth with one of the five tooth brushes sitting in separate holders of gold beside the sink. "Expecting company?" He queried after he spit.

Lucius raised a brow at the query, but as Harry gestured to the brushes, he understood.

"Oh, no, I had Draco pick up a few when he went out a day or so ago. He picked up a few other things for you. I wasn't sure what you'd want so I had him get a variety." He shrugged.

"I have my own, you know?"

"I wanted to be sure you had one for my room as well." Lucius responded airily as if he was remembering something.

"Not ours?" Harry asked quietly.

"Excuse me?" Lucius queried leaning closer.

Harry shook his head. "Never mind."

"No. What'd you say?" He demanded with a frown.

"Nothing."

"You said something."

"Yes, 'nothing'."

"No, before that."

"'Never mind'?"

"Before _that_." Lucius growled.

"Oh." Harry looked up to the ceiling as he tapped his finger against his chin. "Um, I don't remember that far back." He responded with a shrug. "Sorry."

Lucius growled at his mate in frustration.

Harry ignored the glare he was receiving as he took a washcloth and wiped his face before making his way over to the toilet to pee.

After he was through Lucius strolled up behind him and glared at the back of his head before questioning:

"Did you have something to say to me?"

Harry looked at him with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open as he thought before nodding. "Yes, I'm hungry."

"Gods! You're impossible." The blonde sighed heavily, but he wasn't about to give up. Malfoys _never_ gave up. He grabbed Harry's upper arm tightly and pulled him closer. "Just _tell_ me what you said. Stop being difficult!"

Harry frowned at him before opening his mouth to speak when suddenly a knock came to the door of Lucius' rooms. "Oh, who could that be?" He walked away from Lucius to answer the door.

The veela tried to stamp the urge away to run after his mate and force him to tell by some kind of very passionate torture… but failed.

* * *

Draco tapped his foot impatiently. He couldn't believe what that elf had repeated to him! How dare Harry say such rude things.

_I'll kick his ass!_ He thought grumpily.

When the door finally opened, Draco opened his mouth, about to speak out a string of curses to whomever was answering, but at the sight of Harry, damp, naked (aside from a towel), and sporting a rather large hickey, he forgot what it was he was about to say and therefore stood there stupidly with his mouth hanging open.

"Trying to catch flies, Draco?" Harry queried with an amused smirk.

The blonde groaned and closed his mouth. "No." He mumbled.

"Do come in." Harry opened the door wider and gestured to the warm Sitting Room. "Did you order us dinner before you came up here?" The dark-haired man asked him as he shut the door to keep in the warm air.

"Uh…"

"It is dinnertime, isn't it? I only had a quick glance outside."

"Er, yes, it's dinner and I ordered already."

"Good, good." Harry smiled at him. "Have a seat. I-"

"Just tell me already!" Lucius begged as he exited the bath room.

Harry growled at the older blonde. "Would you like some cheese with your whine?" He demanded in irritation. "You mentioned something about these being your rooms, and _I_ said, 'Not ours?'" He threw his hands into the air. "Forget I ever said it!" He walked back toward the door. "I'm going to _my_ room to get some clothes." He snapped before slamming the door.

Draco looked at both men with a raised brow as they conversed, then blinked several times as he watched Harry storm out. He turned to his father cautiously with a raised brow. "Lovers' spat?"

"Shut up!" Lucius hissed, then plopped onto the closest chair and ran his hands through his hair until it was a tangled mess.

Draco sighed as he went to the bathroom and came back out with a hair brush. He walked over to his father's chair and sat on the arm of it as he began to meticulously brush it for the irritated veela.

"I screwed up?" Lucius asked after a long while.

Draco shrugged. "Not too bad, from what I can see." He kissed his father's temple. "It's repairable. Now, tell me what happened while I was at work." The younger blonde hopped over to the couch adjacent to his father and leaned eagerly onto his knees to hear the story.

Lucius looked smugly at him. "And what if I don't want to tell?"

Draco's face fell into something mixed between outrage and horror.

Lucius got a euphoric look about him as he reminisced the last day. "Oh, Draco." He whispered tenderly as he remembered every detail. "He was fabulous. It was wonderful." They both shared a smile; all kidding aside.

* * *

A/N: I know it's short. I'm arguing with the other voices in my head to decide what I should do to divide up the next few chapters and this one ended up on the short end of the deal.

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Reviews: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Something is wrong with at the moment and I can't access the reviews to write responses. I am _terribly_ sorry, but I do appreicate _all_ of my wonderful reviewers and their comments and I will respond to any questions, etc, next chapter. Thank you for your thoughts toward my quirky story and behavior! I love all of my readers and hope you enjoyed this brief, but... hopefully accepted chappie. -smile- 


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I'VE BEEN WITHOUT INTERNET FOR OVER A MONTH! Anyway, so sorry, but I'm back and hopefully it will be consistent… until Drill starts up anyway… then it might vary a bit.

A/N: I was torn on whether to include the Sixth Harry Potter book in this story or not, but I'd rather not delve into un-chartered territory and sound like an ass when the next book comes out. I'm actually still holding out some kind of hope for Draco, so instead of explaining how Draco could become friends with Harry after attempting to kill Dumbledore, I'm just going to scoot around the topic, but I did add a few things from the Sixth Book that aren't too detrimental. I'm sure you'll spot little nicknames here or there. That's about it.

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Chapter 18

"Won-Won!" Hermione cried out ecstatically as she answered her front door, only to be greeted with a scowl by her old red-haired schoolmate. "I missed you!"

Ron growled at the nickname, but accepted a hug from the brunet anyway. "You know how Ellen feels about you using that nickname." He grumbled as he stepped into the cozy house.

"Speaking of Ellen," Hermione interrupted, changing subjects easily, "is she taking care of little Daniel?"

"Yes." The red-head answered with a euphoric look crossing his eyes.

"You have such a cute little bag of bones for a son." Hermione commented cheekily.

Ron snorted in his laughter. "Thanks." He mumbled half-heartedly whilst still laughing. "You know, I-" Just as he was about to continue a loud bang came from the kitchen. Hermione dashed into the room from the hallway, nearly slipping on the tiled floor she'd been mopping the Muggle way, but was easily caught by Ron. "Watch your step." He smiled.

She huffed at him. "Thank you." Their attention returned to the bang, when they began to hear irregular flapping.

"Hedwig?" Ron queried hesitantly of the flustered and exhausted bird that was struggling in the sink full of soapy water and dishware.

Hermione rushed to the owl's side and helped her out of the sink and on to the counter were the bird shook off angrily and looked threateningly at both humans before her. In all her glory, at the moment, poor Hedwig amounted to the beauty of a wet albino sewer rat. After looking the pitiful sight of Hedwig over, Hermione tentatively reached for the message wrapped around her leg that Harry had obviously sent to her urgently, or the poor owl wouldn't have missed her landing so hazardously.

"Thank Merlin all of Harry's messages are waterproof." She added softly to herself once she'd stepped away from the bird. "Ron, could you help Hedwig to the owl stand in the corner."

Ron obeyed, lifting Hedwig and taking her near the hallway entrance, to the corner where a large ornate bird-stand stood five feet tall with a water and food bowl for visitors such as Hedwig.

"Harry's coming for a visit!" Hermione cried out with a whoop of joy as she jumped around excitedly. "He says he'll be here before nightfall and he wants to tell me something important."

"Should I leave?" Ron asked casually, though Hermione could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Nonsense!" She exclaimed with a frown. "He'll be delighted to see you. You two haven't spoken in so long! Besides, whatever he wanted to tell me, he'd have to tell you too, so it's just shortening the process, right?"

"How astute of you." He chuckled. "Can't wait."

* * *

It was early evening when Lucius and Draco finally descended the stairs from Lucius' rooms for dinner.

When they entered the dining area and found it empty of anyone else, Lucius became slightly troubled. He groaned in annoyance, then called for Eva.

The small delicate-looking elf popped into view within moments, and with a slight bow and large eyes, asked what her master wanted.

"Where is my mate in the Manor?" He queried.

Draco looked curiously down at the elf as well, but Eva looked slightly troubled.

"He is' not." She responded with a squeak.

"Is not what?" Draco asked before his father could.

"Not is in the Manor." Eva clarified.

"Why is not… uh," he stuttered, "I mean, why isn't he in the Manor? Is he on the grounds?" The older blonde demanded.

"No, Master Lucius. Master's mate is left an hour ago." The small elf pulled a folded piece of parchment from her dusty clothes. She opened the paper and handed it to the older blonde, who eagerly snatched it and read what was written.

His mate had scrawled a scratchy message about visiting his friends for a short time and returning the following day.

"Well, I can't say it's a _good_ thing that he's left without saying anything, but… at least he left a note." Draco offered after reading the note Harry had scribbled. "Besides, this will give you plenty of time to think for yourself, and you know Uncle Severus wanted to have a word with you anyway. If you went through with courting Harry and never said a word to him, what do you think that would do to your friendship?"

Lucius groaned grumpily. His son was right… but he didn't much feel like conversing with Severus at the moment. "And what will _you_ be doing?"

Draco sighed heavily as he went over a mental list of things he had neglected since his father had returned home. "I've got meetings at the Ministry, paperwork, and other unpleasant activities to go over."

* * *

Ron stretched his arms above his head and let out a roar of a yawn as he stepped into the Den where Hermione was perched at her comfortable/cluttered looking desk. The redhead scrunched his brows as he watched his friend do what she called 'typing' on some Muggle machine called a 'computer' if he remembered correctly. The thing had another name, but he always got it wrong. It was something like 'Lab-top' or some such nonsense. She seemed to like to play with the thing every so often, or maybe it had something to do with a side job… he wasn't sure at all. He tried to stay away from the little machine, even though it was quite fun to watch her go at it some times; like magic… but according to her, it wasn't. He stood back, leaning silently against the doorway as he watched her sit there so quietly except for the ticking of the 'keys' which looked nothing like keys. When he was younger, he had thought that he would grow up to marry Hermione and they'd have a load of kids like his parents, but watching her now, he realized he liked things the way they were.

She occasionally took a sip from a mug next to her computer that he assumed was hot chocolate because he couldn't smell any of her nasty-smelling favorite type of tea in the room. Behind her was a box singing soft melodies into the room to either inspire or soothe his friend. She looked so studious.

_Just as bad as at school._ He thought idly before spinning from the doorway to find something to drink in the kitchen. He spent a good long while searching for a cup before he finally found one.

_Why does Hermione have to have such a huge kitchen!_ He thought as he poured some juice into his cup, and made his way back to the Den.

When he stepped into the Den and saw a dark hooded figure crouched on the windowsill behind Hermione, Ron cried out, jumping back into the doorway, banging his head on said doorway, and dropping his glass of juice which shattered on the floor spraying juice everywhere.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed jumping up from her seat, startled and scowling at the mess.

"Look out! Behind you!" Ron shouted drawing his wand once he'd remembered he had it in his pocket.

The brunet turned around abruptly to gape at the stoic figure in her window who seemed to be watching the proceedings with some form of amusement. Hermione stepped back quickly, but only for a moment before striding closer and aiming well-placed smack atop this figure's head.

"Ow!" He exclaimed.

"Harry Potter! How dare you scare Ron into spilling all over my clean floor!" She screeched with both hands perched on either hip.

Ron squinted at his friend before sighing in relief when Harry pulled off his black hood to reveal his smirking face.

"Aw! Come on, 'Mione. It was just a bit of harmless fun. Ron doesn't have a heart problem yet or anything, and we can clean up the mess with a flick of our wands." He hopped down to the floor gracefully and opened his arms to the fuming brunet.

"You gave me a start!" She grumbled as she embraced her friend.

"Boogers, Harry!" Ron cried out, rushing forward to extend his own greets with a much manlier hug and a couple of sharp pats on the back. "What a way to make an entrance! I nearly hexed you to kingdom come." He mentioned between barks of laughter.

"Yeah, _right_." Harry chuckled sarcastically. "You were so slow on the draw a petrified Fourth Year would have had one up on you."

Ron grinned and punched Harry in the arm. "Sure, whatever."

"Hey, Ron, did I hear you right? Boogers? Did you just cuss at me using that word?" Harry queried with an amused raised brow.

Ron grimaced and started to change facial features to match his hair. "Well, Ellen doesn't appreciate me swearing, and she wants me to learn to stop before little Daniel starts to be able to under and mimic me. She's kind of anal about his first words not being 'Bloody Hell!', you know?" He blushed a bit deeper before hugging Harry again. "Man, it's great to see you again! I'm liking your hair!"

Harry smiled as he ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah. I think I cut it half a year ago or something, but I'm just going to let it grow out… my lover seems to like it long."

"Ooh! Lover!" The redhead teased. "I'm going to want to hear about _that_ in detail later."

"Sure. Right. Later." Harry laughed with a broad smile.

"Wow, Harry, it's so nice to see you smiling like this." Hermione commented. "You look so happy that you're nearly a light bulb of energy."

"It's the company I keep, I think." Harry elbowed each friend into blushing. They all hugged again whilst they laughed. What a reunion!

"It's been a while!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah." Harry agreed with a vague nod.

"How long has it been?"

"About five months." Hermione answered.

"How'd you come up with that so fast?" Ron asked, though Harry was also looking at their friend with a quirked brow.

"Daniel was born five months ago." Hermione reminded with a roll to her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

"Oh, yeah!" Ron yelled triumphantly, as if he'd come up with it himself. Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration. "Well, we have a _lot_ of catching up to do. Damn-" He covered his mouth quickly. "I mean, _wow_, five whole months. So what have you been doing with yourself, Harry?"

"Let's have a seat." Harry told them with a smile as he swished his hand at the entrance to the room and the mess cleaned off of the floor. "Good thing you have hardwood floors in this room and the hallway, 'Mione." He commented lazily. The remade cup floated over to his hand and he placed it gently on the table between all of the chairs before pulling off his cloak and plopping himself in his favorite armchair.

Ron and Hermione each took separate chairs opposite of Harry, ready to hear the happenings of Harry's life… or what he could tell them anyway, besides his job and all.

"Harry, you speak Elvish, right?" Ron questioned suddenly.

"Yes."

"There's this official from the Elvin race that has a problem with the Minister of Magic, but we don't have a good interpreter, or at least not one that the elf trusts."

Harry frowned, but seemed intrigued. "What does this elf have against the Minister? Besides the obvious…"

"From what we've gotten out of the interpreter, it seems that Fudge wronged him somehow. It's really just a big jumbled mess. If you could do _anything_ it'd be great. I'd owe you one."

Harry nodded vaguely. "Sure. Next week I should have some free time."

"Not before then?" Ron asked pleadingly.

"How urgent is this?"

"Very."

"Where is he? Is this elf at the Ministry now?"

"They're holding him so he doesn't attempt anything on the Minister's life."

"Are they that worried about him?"

"Yeah."

"Is the elf…"

"He's only in a holding cell. He's not in Azkaban because he hasn't actually _done_ anything aside from make allegations." Ron corrected quickly.

"After we're done talking I'll take a trip with you to the Ministry and get him out of there until next week when we can sort this out."

"Has _The Prophet_ caught wind of it yet?" Hermione asked worriedly biting her lip.

"Thank Merlin, no." Ron murmured tiredly.

"It's only a matter of time." Harry mumbled. "Well, let's leave that for later."

"Yeah." Ron exclaimed. "I want to hear about the secret secluded life of my best buddy!"

Harry snickered at that. "Well, it all started with this laundry day…"

…

It was already quite early in the morning that Harry had popped in… the dawn had barely just arrived when they started their long conversation… and it would take them many hours to finish it.

* * *

Severus opened his front door a bit grumpily. It was far too early to be awake during the summer. He deserved a few more precious hours of sleep for all of his hard work. He still had to brew a complicated ointment kind of polish for the furniture though, so perhaps being awoken this early wasn't _so_ terrible. The house-elves had been bothering him about the polish for weeks and if he didn't brew it for them before he had to return to Hogwarts, then he would end up coming home to a Manor of dust. They were a group of rebellious rats, is what they were.

On his step, Severus found a very aristocratic and polished looking Lucius Malfoy. He seemed to glow with some kind of triumph.

"Good day, Severus. I do apologize for not sending word of my visit earlier, but this was rather sudden."

"Ah, Lucius, I should have known you would be the only person to call on me this early in the morning. Come in, won't you?" The Potions Master said it politely, but he really didn't have a choice in the matter. He was already awoken and dressed, and here Lucius was, standing right before him. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't simply blow off the blonde.

The blonde stepped into the house with a graceful ease of one that had stepped over the creaky threshold dozens of times before.

"Shall we-" The black-haired man began, but a house-elf popped up in the middle of his sentence offering its hands to take Lucius' thick cloak, top hat, scarf, and snake cane.

"Hmm." Lucius eyed both elf and master before removing his outerwear and handing it to the small creature. Severus was definitely not pleased with his house-elves and they seemed slightly rebellious for some reason. The little elf bowed to Lucius and disappeared with a pop promptly.

"Like I was saying," Severus snarled, not directing it toward Lucius, "let's settle in the Ground level Sitting Room. It's already warm."

The veela followed his long-time friend into said-room and both men made themselves comfortable in their personal chairs.

"What is on your mind, Lucius?" Severus inquired tiredly as he sat back. He brought out his wand from inside his robe and pointed it toward a liquor tray in the corner which promptly poured them two glasses of Scotch, then floated the two glasses to one owner each.

"I have many things to discuss with you, Severus. I have made some decisions in my life that you should know of."

The other man raised his hand for silence and sighed heavily. "I have a bad feeling about these things you wish to tell me. Let's just start with simple things, perhaps?"

Lucius sighed as well, but nodded anyway.

"How is your health of late? You appear very healed considering that less than a week ago you were… contained elsewhere."

Lucius shivered slightly at the memory. "Yes. I am doing quite well indeed. Your potions helped immensely, and seeing Draco again brightened my world… but there were also other contributions that we shall get to later as per your request."

Severus nodded. "I suppose the ingredients you stole from my personal potions cabinet were of some help to you?"

"I left the galleons to replace-" He added calmly.

"I saw them." Severus snapped tartly. "If you needed a potion brewed, you should have asked me to brew it for you. You remember how mediocre you were in potions at school."

"The potion was brewed perfectly." Lucius murmured with a slightly nostalgic look in his eyes as he remembered the taste of his mate from both that night and yesterday, but he also remembered to keep up the wall around his mind. Severus wouldn't want to stumble upon these things before he could break it to the man. "I will inform you of my scheme if ever the need should arise again. I promise you."

"What potion was it that you so desired?" Snape asked with a small nod.

"A temporary anti-aging potion." Lucius answered and watched with amusement as Severus went through any scenario he could think of for a reason to need that potion. "I will explain all of this later."

The black-haired man groaned in frustration. "So… how has Draco been?"

"He seems fine. He's being overworked at the Ministry though. He's happy to have me home. Draco was quite lonely before."

"He had that boy though." Severus recalled, squinting his eyes slightly in thought, probably trying to recall 'that boy's name.

"Yes, Blaise. Draco says he's not sure about him. He doesn't know if this Blaise person is his mate. We had a long discussion about mates and he seems to have lost hope for finding a mate, but he is content to merely be with me and… well… he's content for now."

* * *

Draco groaned inwardly as he opened the main door to the Manor around lunch time. He had expected it to be Harry, but, alas, again he was mistaken.

"Hello, Blaise." He greeted in a monotone. It wasn't as if he didn't like the dark-skinned man -they had been lovers for a while- he just didn't _feel_ anything now that he was in Blaise's presence. Shouldn't he be giddy to see his lover? Even if he was only half-Veela he should feel _something_.

"You haven't sent message or fire called all week!" Blaise exclaimed, quite infuriated. "We were supposed to meet each other this weekend, but you just dropped off the edge of the world without saying a word for more then a week! Seven days! You haven't answered any of my letters-"

Draco was glad, at that moment, that Harry was nowhere around to comment on his inability to answer post.

"Blaise, we need to chat about that." Draco began calmly.

"_Chat_!" He snapped.

"You're being hysterical. Act your age!"

Blaise stiffened at those words. Was Draco looking at him like a parent to a child? Did he really just say those words?

"Is there someone else you've found? Have you found your true mate?" Blaise asked softly, still standing in the doorway.

"No." Draco answered pulling Blaise into the foyer. "My father has found _his_ mate and it's been a huge…" He fought to find the word for what he wanted to say without misconstruing it.

"Deal?" Blaise added helpfully.

"I suppose." Draco shrugged, meeting his ex-lover's eyes. "Because my father has bonded almost completely with his mate I feel a sense of peace inside of me from their peace. It feels as if a piece of me that was once hollow is now filled. I am not whole, but… it is _something_, at least. Their connection seems to be heightening my own Veela senses and I can sense things I couldn't before-"

"Like being able to sense whether I'm your mate or not. You've decided to cut this off between us. That's why you haven't answered my letters." The other man determined.

Draco ground his teeth together. He _knew_ this wasn't the truth. He hadn't answered any post because he hadn't asked for any of his post. He had told the house-elves to hold all post that wasn't urgent, so he'd never gotten around to reading Blaise's mailings. Now… he could either tell Blaise the truth and deal with the backlash… or he could allow Blaise to think what he will… Somewhere inside him a bit of Harry told him to honest, but the parts of him that were Slytherin… including that bit of Harry that was Slytherin agreed he should let Blaise think whatever he wants.

… The Slytherin side won…

"Sorry, Blaise." Draco whispered.

Blaise looked kind of glassy-eyed, but he bit back anything he wanted to say and just stepped closer to Draco and kissed him passionately.

"Oh, sorry!"

Both men pulled apart abruptly at the sound of a voice from the now-open door to the Manor.

Harry was stepping nervously from one foot to the other as he bit his lip adorably and fiddled with the belt to his fading jeans.

"Do you mind, Potter!" Blaise snapped nastily.

Harry seemed to realize he was displaying a lot of his emotions openly and he quickly closed off again, becoming the hard-ass Auror he usually was. Being around his friends all day had caused him to open up his emotions completely and Draco had been startled at the show of emotions on his face when he'd caught them kissing, but now that was all gone and Blaise's sudden sharp words were causing a defensive mode in him to rear up to protect his family.

"Blaise!" He hissed sharply. "I think it's time for you to leave now." His stony expression caused Blaise to step back and try to comprehend what had happened.

"He's not… he's not your mate, is he?" Blaise demanded with a sneer and a razor sharp glare in Harry's direction, though the Auror seemed unaffected by it completely. Something did seem to cause Harry to be quite amused -his eyes dancing with mirth, though his face showed nothing of his feelings.

"That's nothing for you to be concerned about, even if he is." Draco growled, reaching out and pulling Harry against his side so the doorway was clear for Blaise to leave.

"If Potter's not your mate and you can't sense who your true mate is, then what harm is there in us being together? How can you truly tell if I am you mate or not!"

Draco stiffened as he was backed into this corner. He just wanted Blaise to leave him alone forever!

Before Draco could decide what to do about Blaise, he felt Harry yank him around abruptly and pull him into a kiss that took his breath away.

_What's he doing! This is wrong!_ The blonde thought blearily. Why was Harry… _Oh…! I get it…_

After a _very_ thorough kiss, Harry pulled away from Draco and stood over him glaring at Blaise fiercely.

"Draco is _mine_. I tried to be nice whilst he was saying goodbye to you, but now you're trespassing on _our_ property, so I suggest you exercise your ability to find the exit before I exercise my ability to arrest you and throw you in Azkaban first then ask questions later."

Blaise paled considerably before reaching blindly behind himself to find the door handle, staring wide-eyed at Harry with fear. When he finally found the door he rushed outside, slamming the door behind him in his haste, and rushed to the edge of Malfoy property so he could Apparate away to safety.

Draco turned to Harry with a small smirk. "I can see why my father's crazy about you."

Harry let out a loud bark of laughter. "And why is that?"

"Because you can arrest anyone you're pissed at, you're very protective and loyal to your family, and you're _one **hell**_ of a kisser!"

They both started laughing together as they turned back into the mansion.

"Where did you get the idea to scare him off like that?"

"Well, I figured if he saw you'd found your mate, then he'd leave you alone, and if I threatened to throw him in Azkaban he'd go the fuck away. There was that, and also this urge I have to kiss your father, but I'm a bit ticked at him right now, so you just happened to be able to help me kill two birds with one stone."

The younger blonde shoved him roughly. "Ass." He snickered. "Father's going to be pissed at you for kissing me. He might even be _jealous_!"

"I'm sure. Whatever. I don't plan on telling him though, but if _you_ want to, be my guest."

"How long are you going to stay mad at Father?" Draco asked curiously as he began walking with Harry and putting his confrontation with Blaise behind him.

Harry shrugged. "Eh, I don't know. He'll redeem himself eventually. He can't stay away for too long. I imagine we'll be alright again by tomorrow. It's nothing serious, Draco. Don't worry yourself so much." Harry smiled evilly. "He was an ass, I called him on it and now I'm letting him suffer it out."

"I think we're rubbing off on you way too much." The blonde commented dryly.

"I think you're right." Harry laughed. "I'll eat in my room today and I'll confront Lucius tonight, or maybe he'll find me first… I dunno."

"Why are you so… perky?" Draco wondered, cocking his head to the right adorably.

Harry sighed dramatically. "I don't know. I suppose because I just told my friends everything about Lucius and myself and it feels… invigorating to get that kind of thing off your chest, you know?"

Draco smiled warmly. "What'd you tell them?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out after a short period of torture." He turned and made his way up the stairs to his rooms as Draco laughed behind him, walking off to his study area in the Library to get back to work.

* * *

"Tell me your thoughts, Severus." Lucius asked guardedly.

The Potions Master scratched his neck with a groan and leaned back into his armchair tiredly. "Even though you are a pureblood veela, I have half a mind to tell you Azkaban rattled your senses a bit too much."

Lucius flinched as the memories of Azkaban came back, but he covered the nightmares up for another time.

"I know your senses aren't rattled though." Severus continued. "Potter wouldn't have succumbed to you unless your senses were right on. So, I, therefore, have no barrier to say you are crazy for becoming engaged with Potter. You both apparently have great feelings for one another…." Severus groaned again. "Lucius… if you're happy… that's all that matters. Whatever makes you feel alive. Whatever makes you happy… you deserve it. You don't need my approval."

"I know." Lucius bowed his head slightly. "I love him. I want us to spend eternity together, but I couldn't continue with Harry without filling you in. I do not wish to lose your friendship, Severus. We've been in each others lives since we could ride a broomstick, and I'd like to see that friendship hold until we're too old to piss on our own."

Severus sneered. "I hope I die before I get _that_ old."

"The feeling is mutual, my friend." Lucius chuckled as he stood. "I must go."

"Of course." Severus stood and embraced his childhood friend briefly. "Walk on, Lucius."

The blonde turned to go, but at the door he spun to look back on his friend, "Visit sometime, would you, Hermit?" He asked with a smirk which was returned.

"Bastard."

The door to Malfoy Manor opened with a slight creak and Lucius Malfoy stepped through, closing the thick doors behind him.

"Eva."

She popped up before him within a second and bowed slightly to him. "What may Eva do for Master?"

"Have you noticed the door creaking?" He asked her as he pulled off his outer cloak and traveling jacket.

"I is having door fixed." She promised.

He nodded to her and handed her his outerwear. "Thank you, Eva. Do you know where Draco is?"

"Eva isn't knowing." She replied with a frown. "Lokey is mostly knowing. Eva is asking Lokey." She popped away quickly.

Lucius began to walk toward the staircase to make his way to his room, but before he could reach the landing Eva popped up in front of him five steps above where he was walking. She bowed again and Lucius paused his steps to hear her answer.

"Lokey is saying Master Draco is in the Library, Master."

"Very good, Eva." She popped away and Lucius continued to the main library in the house.

Draco stood up when his father entered the room. "How was your visit with Uncle?"

"We spoke about my relationship with Harry and he understands that Harry and I are together now and may be for a very long time to come." He smiled. "How was _your_ afternoon?"

The younger blonde groaned in annoyance. "Blaise stopped by."

Lucius' brow rose in amused silent query.

"He wanted to know why I hadn't sent him any messages or answered any mail he'd sent to me."

Lucius cracked a wide smile that Draco growled at.

"I know. I know. You don't have to start with me, Father." He ran his hand over his head to make sure no hairs were out of place, then leaned back into a comfortable chair.

The older blonde stepped closer to his son and sniffed his neck with a frown.

"You smell deeply of him." Lucius announced softly.

Draco nodded with a sigh, realizing he didn't really have a choice of what he could tell his father now… unless he could worm his way around it like the Slytherin he was.

"When Blaise and I were talking, Blaise was to the point of where he was cornering me into becoming more than I wanted us to be. Harry arrived in the nick of time to help weasel me out of any kind of a relationship with Blaise. When Blaise finally wouldn't give up, Harry conned Blaise into thinking that he and I were mates and that's why Blaise and I couldn't be together. He stood really close to me and had his arms all around me in a superior acting performance. Blaise left and we celebrated our victory. It's nothing, Father." Draco shrugged. "Are you worried I'll steal your mate after all the work I've gone through to get you together?" He raised his brow in curiosity and Lucius shook his head with a snort.

"I believe you're hiding something from me, but I also believe in Harry and his judgment, so I'm not accusing you of anything. I was merely stating a simple fact. If you had felt guilty about his smell on you, you would have caved like you always do."

Draco blushed scarlet. "Father!"

"It's true." Lucius laughed. "You could never hold your own against the truth. Now, where is my mate?"

"Off in a quiet place I'd imagine. He said that he'd had a good day with his friends, and he was in a good mood when he returned. He was displaying his emotions so openly… it was nice to see, but Blaise caused him to close up again, so he might be a bit closed off, but I think he'll open up easily enough. Good apologize for being stupid, or something." He suggested and earned a glare from his father.

Draco raised his hands in surrender and Lucius left the room with a silent wave of his hand in good-willed exit.

It was relatively easy to find his mate in the Ground Floor den facing the West. He knocked gently on the door before opening it and finding his mate.

The night was crisp outside the windows his mate stared longingly out at.

It was Friday night and his mate was sitting in the den, staring blankly out at nothing. What was wrong with this picture?

"What are you doing?" Lucius asked after watching Harry sit in the window-seat of the den, staring up into the starry night, with an occasional glance at the crescent moon every now and then. Those beautiful bright eyes scanned the night as his arms laid before him, folded over the stone sill of the window.

The veela's words did not, however, distract the youth from his sky-gazing. He merely breathed in deeply, then released the breath.

"Looking at the sky." He answered simply. Lucius had been waiting for the sarcastic comment to come from the youth's mouth like 'What does it _look_ like I'm doing, you dolt!', but none came. His temperate mood surprised Lucius. He seemed… lifeless; without emotion, almost.

The veela made sure to erase all trace of aristocracy from his demeanor as he stepped closer to the large window-seat. He looked for signs of Harry not wanting him close, but when none appeared he sat himself beside Harry.

"Beautiful." Lucius whispered tenderly, his whisper barely more than a breath, but it carried to the silent man beside him who nodded numbly.

"Yes, it is." Harry –not realizing they were speaking about two completely different topics- suddenly moved and Lucius feared he would leave, but instead Harry merely stood to unlatch the window and push both sides open, then he replaced himself in the window-seat –continuing to stare up at the velvety sky, now with no window framing to obstruct his view.

A gentle wind blew into the room, and in that moment Lucius nearly fell over in shock.

As that wind blew, Harry seemed to move in slow motion, as if coming alive with that simple wind; sitting up slightly and breathing in with the wind as if cleansing him. The breeze caressed and swirled around his beautiful mate in a tender gesture. It seemed almost that this movement of air was causing a slight flush to come to his mate's face, though his eyes were closed. He seemed almost to be receiving a caress from a ghost of an invisible kind. The feelings running over the youth's face were of sadness and loss, but also acknowledgement, love, and life. His seemed, almost, to be swaying to some hypnotic beat. The man's eyes opened slowly, though they seemed clouded in desperation with a long arm reaching out through the open window to return the touch. The gesture was almost one that was showed from a child to their mother before a long stint of absence –the child wanting the mother's embrace once more before they must part again. All of his movements reminded Lucius of a silent play he'd gone to when he was a small boy where the characters expressed themselves through their faces, emotions, and body movement like this.

The wind did die though -with one final brush across Harry's face, ruffling his hair gently as it passed and left without picking up again.

Harry's eyes seemed to un-cloud as he came back to himself. He leaned forward again and crossed his arms over the sill of the window, placing his head into the crook of his arms as he seemed to rest for a long moment without movement.

Lucius was breath-taken by the act. He wanted to feel jealous at first that this _thing_… this anomaly had touched _his_ Harry. Even worse, Harry seemed to expect and, most certainly, _welcome_ the gesture from whomever had directed it.

It was at that moment, as the jealousy burned inside of him, that Lucius saw the pain and love filling Harry's eyes. His gaze was not directed at anything in particular. It was an empty stare of anguish.

Lucius couldn't bring himself to disturb Harry's thoughts with his questions yet, though he ached to ask who it had been and how Harry had known whomever it was.

Just as Lucius was reaching out to caress a stray hair from his mate's brow, Draco strode into the room a bit loudly.

He seemed unfazed by the display before him. His expression was more gentle than Lucius had ever seen it in the company of others. Did Draco know about this? Why hadn't he been informed if Draco had known?

Draco's eyes caught his father's before the older man could speak. The younger Malfoy merely shook his head with that sweet tender smile, gesturing in that motion that Lucius should remain silent now and things would be better that way.

"Harry." Lucius' eyes widened with surprise and concern as Draco used his mate's name. What was this world coming to when unknown spirits would surround his mate one moment, and his son would call his mate properly by his name the next? This must be serious. He only spoke like this when he needed to be serious. "Would you like something to eat?" Draco asked kindly.

Harry didn't respond at first as both Malfoys turned their gazes of concern to him. He blinked for the first moment in the long while that Lucius had been staring at him, but he made no other indication that he had heard Draco. Lucius expected his son to become agitated at being ignored, but Draco merely smiled a bit more warmly, even though Harry couldn't see him.

"Didn't stay to talk then?" He asked as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Surprisingly, Harry's eyes pivoted so they could narrow on Draco's overly-sweet, smiling face. He continued to stare at Draco as the blonde nodded once.

"Ah, then I suppose you'd like some hot cocoa?" Draco wondered a bit cheerily. Both young men were quite fond of hot cocoa.

He approached Harry who dug his head further into the crook his arms made, causing his eyes to disappear as well. "It always comes back." Draco whispered gently in assurance against Harry's ear as he leaned closer. "Now," Draco stood up firmly, his expression more determined, "come out to the dining hall so we can sit by the fire and enjoy some hot cocoa." It was more of an order than a request, causing Lucius to raise his brow in query. Draco then turned his attention to his father. "Father, would you like to join Harry and I for some hot cocoa?"

Lucius looked down to Harry, thinking that it would be a cold day in hell before the younger man would agree to move from his position, but he nodded to Draco nonetheless.

Draco then smiled a charming smile to his father and took hold of Harry's nearest arm. He gave a swift tug and Harry stood with an airy sigh, his head hanging a bit as he was pulled along to the dining room by Draco.

It was odd that all of Lucius' assumptions and predictions about Harry's behavior that night had been so off. He hadn't been able to pin anything that Harry would do. He had thought Harry would have grumbled at Draco and told him to fuck off, but instead Harry had conceded to be brought elsewhere from the ominous window.

As the first sips of cocoa went down his throat, he seemed to return to life and Lucius smiled inwardly. _Good._ He thought.

He had been a bit sore with Draco about the information earlier and about treating his mate so oddly, but now, it seemed, Draco had saved Harry from a bit of a depression. Harry was getting his spark back within the hour that they spoke together and by the end of the hour Draco was back to spitting comments at Harry and calling him 'Potter' whilst teasing him as they sent sharp barbs at one another playfully.

Lucius would remember to question Draco about this later on. How had Draco managed to miss telling him all of these things?

Later:

"Why didn't you tell me about this!" Lucius asked in aggravation as he and Draco sat in the study with the door locked and several silencing charms around the room.

Draco sighed in frustration. "Look." He growled as he scraped his fingers through his hair both ways agitatedly. "I understand that your veela instinct is driving you to the point where anything I don't tell you about him is going to piss you off when you find out about it later, but this was…" Draco paused as he leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling. "For one thing, this isn't the sort of thing that is explained in a letter, so it would have had to wait until you got here, but it wasn't furthermost on my mind when you arrived. I also didn't expect him to be dropping by so I wouldn't have had any time to tell you about this anyway, then with all the things going on lately I'd forgotten about this little thing. Harry –"

"Why don't you just explain what is going on?" Lucius snapped with a snarl barely hidden in his tone.

Draco hardened his expression as he began to explain the facts without tiptoeing around the subject at all.

"Fine. This is it. He came over for one of his visits. He was standing on the balcony of the second story, off of the East Wing when I came across him in the dark of night. I had a candelabra with me to light my way because it was so dark in the corridors. He was just standing there. The moonlight seemed to illuminate only him as he closed his eyes. A wind picked up, like you saw before, but much stronger and more controlled. He looked truly like an angel the way he stood there embracing the wind and whomever had sent it. The candles went out and the only illumination I had was his unearthly glow. In that moment, I understood why you wanted him so much. I understood your attraction to him entirely, as if I were looking at him through your eyes with your senses. Suddenly, I heard a whisper. As if a far off voice were speaking and could barely be heard by me, then Harry began speaking. He was crying. I saw the pain in his face as he spoke things like 'I love you', 'I miss you', or 'I wish you were here with me'."

Lucius' face began to show his hurt that Harry would speak such things to anyone but him.

"I know what you're thinking." Draco murmured sadly. "I thought the same things. I thought that he was speaking to a lost lover that had somehow been able to connect with them from the other world, but no. After the wind finally went away, I confronted him about it. Quite the wrong thing to do, actually. I nearly hit him, he frustrated me so. My adrenaline was pumping from seeing what I had seen, and my assumption was that when you found out you would want to kill yourself, or would die of desperation that you couldn't be loved because you had to fight with a ghost to win his heart. I finally got a response out of him without telling him a thing about you in any way. I thought he would explode with anger and spill everything from his heart and I would feel more angry, but instead he spoke three words… three words that made me ache for him. He said 'Shut up, Draco.' I felt the hurt in his words. He was in so much pain and my yelling only made it worse. I stayed quiet as I assessed how fragile he really was. We had been on friendly terms earlier. There was nothing of our rivalry left, but I wanted there to be. I wanted him to shout back at me, but he remained so sad and calm. 'It was my godfather.' He told me softly. 'He was killed by your relative Bellatrix Lestrange in our Fifth Year.' He paused after saying that and I vaguely remembered when Bellatrix had been quite happy in the summer before Sixth Year, but I couldn't understand why. He finished by saying 'I never got to say… anything to him. Tell him goodbye, or "I love you".' He went on a rant about how he had never been allowed the time to get to know his godfather, and how he loved him dearly." Draco paused and sighed heavily as he realized his father was once again docile. "Well, that's what happened. It happened in different forms a few more times and I realized the way to calm him was to offer him hot cocoa laced with a bit of a pepper-up potion."

Lucius nodded in understanding now. Things made sense. He had to find his mate now. Harry would probably still be up and about unless he took a potion for sleep. The contact from his godfather earlier would probably keep him awake all night.

He kissed his son's forehead and wished him goodnight. Draco nodded his understanding and gestured for Lucius to leave and find his mate, or maybe it was more 'leave me alone now'?

After searching the many quiet places to think in the Manor -the library, the many Sitting Rooms, the Conservatory, the Hall- Lucius thought that perhaps Harry would return to the room he ha first seen his godfather in. It was off to the East Wing, and from there it was simple to find Harry. Most of the East wing was bedrooms, but the one den on the second floor was alight from the inside and cracked open slightly.

_He's in here._ Lucius thought with a sigh of relief as he pushed the door open further. There his mate sat in much the same position as he had found him in before. He would say something this time though.

"Harry, what are you looking for up there?" Lucius asked, referring to the endless sky above.

Harry leaned back from the window this time, so he could see Lucius clearly. There eyes connected, green with gray, and he smiled sadly at Lucius. The veela realized that somehow knew that Lucius knew… He wasn't uncomfortable or shy about the ghost or the way he had acted, and he seemed glad he didn't have to explain the story of it all to the older veela.

"A star." Harry answered as he stretched out on the window-seat, scratching lazily at his flat stomach as he knocked open the window gently and welcomed the cold normal breeze that fluttered in.

"Which star?" Lucius queried as he approached the youth. He stood a few feet away so that he could be near his mate without crowding his –obviously desired- space.

With a sad smile Harry answered, "Sirius' star."

* * *

A/N: Due to me being a jackass and this whole chapter already taking me two months to complete, I'm going to forego reviews this time, though I'm thrilled that when I was sifting through nearly three hundred emails in my mailbox there were a few reviewers. I appreciate you all so much and hopefully I'll update in two weeks. -crosses fingers- 


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I added and changed a few things, but nothing of major importance. I think I just added a few details here and there and maybe gave Daeron more lines, but that's about it. You don't have to reread it, but I had to update it. I'm putting up another chapter as well. Hopefully it will be liked.

Chapter 19

The hallways were long and quiet as Harry and Lucius walked silently toward their bedroom. The cold in the halls was bitter against any bare skin, causing Harry to shiver. The blonde veela noticed his mate shiver and leaned over to kiss his forehead before taking his hand tenderly and squeezing. It took him a moment, but the Auror slowly returned the squeeze.

"Are you feeling well?" Lucius questioned his mate worriedly, though he did fight to keep his face from looking utterly pathetic with his devotion.

Harry looked up to him and smiled slightly. "I love you." He whispered back, startling Lucius into a slight blush. The blonde opened his mouth to respond, but Harry looked at the veela in a tender way that showed he needed no response for his declaration. "Even if you are a git sometimes." He paused, then answered the veela's question. "I have a lot on my mind at the moment, that's why I'm silent."

"What is it that you're thinking of that distracts you so?"

The Auror fidgeted for a moment in indecision, but eventually decided to tell his mate. "I think I've found Draco's mate." He proclaimed.

"Excuse me?" The blonde stopped in his tracks, his mouth slightly agape. "You've what!" When Harry glanced back to Lucius he noticed his slightly agape mouth and couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked. He almost commented on how a Malfoy shouldn't let their mouth hang open, but decided against it.

Harry continued to walk forward, reaching Lucius' door and walking inside. The blonde hurriedly joined his mate in their rooms, sitting on the sofa beside Harry who swished his hand, starting a fire in the hearth.

"Are you sure about…?" Lucius couldn't finish his own sentence, he was so anxious. Had Harry really found his dragon a mate?

Harry smiled. "Yes, I'm quite sure. He was drawn to me through my connection to you and, consequently, Draco."

"I want to meet him." Lucius snapped abruptly, becoming very protective of his son.

The dark-haired man chuckled deeply and put a kiss to the back of Lucius' hand. "You're so cute like this. I was just about to suggest that you meet him anyway. How about a luncheon tomorrow? All three of us can sit and talk. You may judge all you like, but I doubt you'll have a problem with him. He's very suave and genuine."

"That's fine. We'll tell Draco we're going out for a romantic kind of date so he won't even think of coming along, we'll meet up with this fellow, have a bit of food, and part ways."

"What a wonderful idea!" Harry told his mate without really showing his sarcasm. He'd let Lucius think he thought up the idea on his own if that made the blonde happy.

"Tell me about him." Lucius demanded with a slight frown, but Harry shook his head.

"No, I'll only tell you his name is Magnus Leo."

"What? Why?"

"I want you to interrogate him without having preconceived notions about him. Your first impression of him will not come from me." Harry was firm with his answer and Lucius knew there was no point in arguing. He'd have to wait until tomorrow to find out any more about this man. "I need to send an owl to him." Harry murmured as he stood. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Lucius nodded as he watched Harry approached the window which was currently collecting frost. His mate opened the window and raised his hand in the air. It glowed for a moment before Harry shut the window again and waited. "What did you do?" He asked curiously.

"I used my magic to call Hedwig to me." Harry answered with a smirk. "I wrapped a magical band around her ankle that glows and becomes warm when I use my magic to call her so that she knows I need her. It's pretty much just a miniature charm bracelet that I've forced my magic into and shrunken to fit her. She seems to like it."

_Clever._ Lucius thought with a smirk.

* * *

Thankfully it was way too early in the school year for it to be a Hogsmeade weekend, so they didn't have to worry about the little brats and admirers of 'The Boy Who Lived' clogging the streets.

Lucius strode down the streets of the rambunctious town, not liking the gawking people were doing.

Harry patiently kept up with him, looking a bit tense, but otherwise indifferent to the stares. It was obvious he didn't appreciate being the focus of everyone's attention. Lucius assumed it had a lot to do with being thrown into bad public situations as a child and not knowing how to react. He would talk to his mate about that later.

The blonde hated the crowds himself. He hadn't been around many people at all the past year, and having all of these people together was making him nervous, though he didn't show an inch of it.

They waded through the crowds down the streets of Hogsmeade, passing all the stores until they were near the edge of the town.

"Do you need anything from any of the stores?" Harry queried over his shoulder to the blonde. "Potions ingredients perhaps?" He teased gently with a quirk to his lips.

The blonde smiled minutely so that Harry would know he liked his sense of humor. "No." Lucius answered simply -ever the calm Malfoy in public- though in the back of his mind he was curious as to where they were going.

"Okay." With that said, Harry turned down the road and began walking toward Hogwarts. This confused Lucius even further. Was his son's mate a child? Barely of age? The older blonde just continued to walk beside his mate patiently and proudly as the noises of Hogsmeade dulled into a peaceful silence of only the occasional breeze and twitter of birds.

As they were coming upon the end of the road leading to the winged boars that sat on either side of the gates of Hogwarts Harry started to stray from the road and Lucius' brows scrunched in confusion.

_Now_ where were they going? His mate was utterly baffling.

They began to walk along the border of Hogwarts. The Forbidden Forest was particularly active today, though none of it was visible through the high thick barrier to the Forest, but the sounds…

A movement from the top of the wall of the forest startled Lucius into a defensive stance. When a slim figure jumped down from the wall, Lucius shot forward to tackle the figure where he landed with a speed and grace that only a creature defending its mate or child could wield. Nothing good came sneaking over the wall of the Forbidden Forest. He was a veela, and he would protect his mate from any harm.

The cloaked person and Lucius connected and both rolled together in a nasty scuffle.

"Lucius!" Harry shouted in worry and anger. Neither man seemed to hear him which only angered Harry further. "Lucius Caiden! Daeron Raunion! Stop it! Both of you, stop!" The younger wizard raised his arm -about to separate the two men by magic, when suddenly they threw each other apart and stood glaring at each other suspiciously, in a ready stance to fight again.

This animalistic side of Lucius was very surprising to the younger wizard. He was being protective, which Harry didn't mind, but there should really be a compromising ground.

"How dare you attack us?" Lucius snapped, growling fiercely at this intruder. The other man scowled back at them from underneath the hood of his cloak.

Harry jumped between the two and glared first at Lucius, then this new man before they could start in on each other again.

"Lucius Malfoy, I'd like you to meet Magnus Leo. Daeron, I'd like you to meet Lucius, Draco's father." Harry introduced with narrowed eyes flickering to both men. The other man went pale.

Lucius straightened up in awe, trying to bring back his dignity as he looked down his nose at the graceful looking being staring right back at him. After flinging his long hair back over his shoulder and dusting some dirt off of his waistcoat, Lucius stepped forward to this man with his hand outstretched.

"Lucius Malfoy." He claimed with a deep but polite tone.

_Ever the dignified Malfoy._ Harry thought. _Even after a nasty romp with your son's mate prospect._

The man straightened his robe, pushing his hood back, flattening his hair briefly, and reached his hand into the blonde's. "Magnus Leo in your language. Daeron Raunion in my own. Please, call me Daeron."

Lucius ran his hands over his hair to make sure there wasn't any debris nestled into his locks as he stepped back from this slightly shorter man. He couldn't believe how un-Malfoy-like he had been as of late. Malfoys do NOT roll around on the ground fighting like children. How shameful! He was only placated by the fact that no one else had been around to witness it… but Harry had been… but Harry was his mate and he had been trying to protect him… but he also had a wand and should have defended him in a more practical way…. He sighed and decided he would try to make a better impression on this fellow, if only to regain his pride and Harry's respect.

"Good. Now that you two are acting civilly, do you think we could go and have lunch?" Harry demanded with a humph as he started walking back toward Hogsmeade.

"Yes, of course, Marcaunon." Daeron bowed slightly to Harry.

"What did you just say?" Lucius asked with a furrowed brow as he matched his mate's pace on his right.

"Marcaunon." Daeron answered walking on the other side of Harry, so that Lucius would not be able to attack him easily.

"It's my name in Elvin tongue." Harry interrupted patiently as he looked to Lucius.

"You know Elvish as well?" The blonde asked this new brunet man.

"I am Elfin." Daeron responded easily and curled a braid of hair behind his ear so Lucius could see the point to his ear more definitely. "Harry did not tell you this beforehand?" Daeron queried in response.

"No," Lucius replied, eyeing the imp beside him who held a feral smirk, "he withheld all information from me until now so I wouldn't have any preconceived notions of you."

"How kind of him." Daeron murmured, quite sincerely, as he looked to Harry with a warm smile. "But how frustrating for you." He spoke as he turned back to Lucius, who curtly nodded once.

"You two seem rather friendly." Lucius began with a glare this new man.

"Harry and I have met before. When Harry came to our Elvin World with his companion Remus, the werewolf." Daeron started, trying to be mindful of whether Harry wanted him to keep speaking about this, but Harry encouraged him with a nod to continue. "Harry came by the palace then and we met and became friends during his stay, that is why I called him Marcaunon. It wasn't until we met again at the Ministry that we realized the connection."

"I see." Lucius replied shortly.

A silence began to form as they continued to walk. It was a pregnant pause that was beginning to become oppressive.

Harry glanced at both men as a silence began to form between them. They were supposed to be talking and liking one another. This just wouldn't do. Harry took hold of each of their forearms and Apparated them away within the blink of an eye.

When they reappeared both men beside Harry turned to glare at him, but their gazes were detracted from him by a voluptuous waitress who had just walked up to them.

"Harry!" She exclaimed.

"Hey, Serena!" Harry replied and accepted the hug the shorter woman offered.

"How'd you sneak inside here without me seeing you!" She demanded with her hands on her hips and cute pout coming to her lips.

"I'm very sneaky." He answered her pout by patting her once on the head. "I'll be eating in tonight with these two. Can you get us a large cheese, a whiskey, and two waters?"

She raised her brow in curiosity, but nodded anyway and rushed off to put in the order.

Harry turned back to his two companions and sighed at the prospect of the fights that might ensue from the two hardheaded bulls he had to deal with.

"Well, let's have a seat and we'll eat in a bit." Harry gestured to a corner table where he ended up in the middle again with a blonde on his right and brunet on his left. "Let's start by not forgetting why we're here." Harry began. "Draco." Both men relaxed slightly.

"You are Elvin?" Lucius stated, though his voice raised in the end to indicate a question.

"Yes." Daeron responded easily with a slight smile. "That doesn't bother you, does it?"

Lucius snorted softly. "Hardly, Daeron." The blonde replied, trying the name on his tongue. "I am veela. It would be very hypocritical for me to be against Elves considering the close relationship between our races."

Harry smiled encouragingly to the two men. He placed his hand on Lucius' thigh, showing his approval of the blonde's kindness.

"You called my mate something before…" Lucius began, letting his sentence hang for response.

"Yes, Marcaunon." Daeron answered with a short nod. "It means, Ruler of the Home."

The veela didn't know whether to be offended or not, but he decided he would just nod and continue.

"What is Draco's name in your language?"

Daeron's face softened with a gentle smile. "Locien. Dragon."

"And you know this as well, correct?" Lucius asked Harry in turn, swirling his hand around several times vaguely, as if it could clarify his question to Harry without him having to speak. "You speak Elvish?"

"Yes." Harry nodded with a small smile at Lucius' gesturing. The blonde was trying to be relaxed, proper, and strong all at the same time, but his gesturing showed his nerves slightly which Harry admired.

_How cute._ He thought as he looked on the blonde waiting for one of them to say something and continue this gentle interrogation. He spent another moment wondering what Lucius would think of him calling the blonde cute so many times in one day, or at all for that matter.

"How did you two meet?" Lucius asked Harry.

"Well, frankly, Daeron was being kept prisoner at the Ministry for declaring his grievance against the Minister of Magic. They didn't have a good interpreter, so they didn't know whether Daeron would be trying to harm the Minister, so he was being held there until they found a better interpreter. Ron, Weasley that is," Harry added for Lucius' benefit, in case he didn't know all of Harry's friends' names yet, "told me about it when I went to visit him a while back and so I went to help. We met and hit it off right away. Like I said before, there was just something about him that attracted me to him. I cast an Ancient Magic spell on him that would help him speak and understand our language better and helped him to be released from the Ministry and his issues were worked out." Harry explained.

"What was your grievance with the Minister?" Lucius questioned, before adding. "Aside from the obvious."

Harry smiled secretly as he remembered saying the same thing to Ron. Perhaps Lucius was spending too much time around him, or he was spending too much time with Slytherins.

Daeron opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he heard someone coming closer to their dark corner. He sat back in his seat and pulled his hair out from behind his pointy ears to hide his lineage from the Muggles.

Serena appeared just then with their drinks on a tray, placing them onto the table in the middle for them to take as they desired.

"There you are." She exclaimed with a grin, a bit too giddy for Lucius' liking. "Anything else you need just give a holler." She winked and walked away with a roll to her hips; Harry called after her:

"Thanks."

"Is this a Muggle place?" Daeron wondered as he looked around.

"Yes." Harry answered easily, taking the whiskey for himself and giving the waters to the two men beside him. The only one who should be getting drunk around here should be him. These two both needed level heads in their discussion. "Would you like me to put a glamour on your ears so you don't have to keep doing that?" He asked his elf friend kindly.

"I'm fine, thank you." Daeron responded with a slight incline of his head to show his appreciation of Harry's kindness.

"Why are we eating here?" Lucius asked with a scowl as he looked at the neon lights and dingy atmosphere.

"Yes, and speaking of food," Daeron added, looking curiously to Harry with wide curious eyes, "what is this 'large cheese' that you spoke of earlier? Is it food?"

Harry snickered, but decided not to really make much of these two not knowing Muggle things like that -there were a lot of Wizarding things he had been, and was still, ignorant about and he would not appreciate them laughing at him for not knowing, so… "A 'large cheese' is slang for asking for a slab of baked dough with a special sauce and cheese on top. It's called a pizza, and if you want different toppings, then that's what you ask for it by. So you say the size of the pizza, then what you want on it and you've ordered just like that. And Lucius, we are here because I like this place's pizza, and you two would attract too much attention elsewhere, _and_ because no one knows you here. I know it's not quite a five star restaurant, but it will do for now. So, anyway, continue with your questions. What were you so pissed at the Minister for, Daeron?" Harry added helpfully.

"Oh, yes, well, the bastard sent a call to our kingdom for a representative to come for an urgent council meeting which was to decide several Wizard/Elf Parliamentary Laws. My cousin was the only Parliamentarian on hand to be able to make the journey, so he had to leave a meeting with our King to travel the great distance to the edge of our lands and then journey to your Muggle World as quickly as possible. When he finally reached your Ministry he was denied entrance because he was a magical creature that had not arrived within the correct hours to enter."

"He was turned away?" Lucius demanded with a furrowed brow.

The elf nodded shortly with a scowl and continued. "My cousin then returned home to us and told us what had happened. I was infuriated, so I left with the King's permission to demand answers and exact some sort of revenge for their disrespect to our race. When I arrived I was arrested for making a disturbance, then that whole mess with them being imbeciles and not having a competent translator." He breathed in deeply and breathed out all of his frustrations as he smiled gently at Harry. "Of course, Harry then came to my rescue."

Harry nodded firmly. "Those assholes have so many ridicules rules!" He exclaimed. "I threw my weight around and made a few changes and spent most of the day straightening those asses out before finding a reporter and making a huge deal out of the Kingdom of Elves and their importance to our culture, explaining my close connections to them and basically forcing the Ministry to acknowledge Elves with more respect, etc, etc. It was nothing too big, but those damned monsters needed to be put in their places!" His fist slammed abruptly against the table and everyone within the general area was startled out of their conversations for a moment.

It was then that Serena came back over with a soft smile and a plate of fresh bread and butter for them to nibble on before she came back with their meal. "Who's the victim today, Harry?" She asked sweetly.

"Your poor table, it seems." He joked with a sigh. "I'll be more gentle."

"Don't worry about it, hun!" She laughed and blew him a kiss. "I promise not to tell Sam… if you're good." She started to walk away with a glance at Daeron and Lucius before going.

Harry barked a laugh and ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Gee, _thanks_!" He muttered sarcastically.

Lucius was glaring holes into the waitress' head the whole time and now he was looking angrily to his mate.

"Who is that woman and why is she flirting with you?" Lucius demanded sharply, before trying to rein in his anger valiantly.

The dark-haired wizard turned to his mate at the tone of his voice before smiling tiredly at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Daeron interrupted him.

"Isn't it obvious?" He queried with quirked brow. Lucius turned his glare onto the elf. "That woman flirts with your mate because she doesn't know he's spoken for. She knows him as being single and he's obviously attractive, so she flirts with him."

Before Lucius could fire a scathing comment to Daeron, Harry intervened calmly. "To be honest, love," Harry started, attracting Lucius' attention with the pet name, "she wants me for her bed, but I have never joined her and I never will." He reached out for the veela's hand slowly and squeezed it under the table to show his sincerity, though Lucius could clearly see it in his eyes. "I don't intend to get mushy with you inside a restaurant, so you'll just have to accept for now that I will never be in her bed and you should _not_ feel threatened by such a weak opponent, such as her. Her attempts should make you laugh or crack a smile. Just as I would snicker at any attempt made at your affections because I know you have eyes only for your mate."

"You wouldn't be jealous?" Lucius asked with a slight pout, though he restrained the pout the instant it happened so he wouldn't look so weak. Harry smiled when he saw the flash of a pout on that mouth.

"Would you ever cheat on me?" Harry asked gently and Lucius immediately scowled and went to deny that thought. "Exactly." He murmured softly as he leaned in to Lucius' neck and whispered into his ear. "The fact that I have so much faith and the utmost trust in you should make you happy, not pout, love. Besides," He continued leaning back, "you're a full grown wizard, it is my understanding that you could look after yourself, but certainly if someone attempted to kiss you I would have to punch out their teeth." The wizard commented airily, as if he were speaking on the weather.

Daeron smiled at the tender display he had just witnessed. He hoped his mate was just like Lucius, but perhaps not as violent.

"Why did you come out of the Forbidden Forest?" Catching Daeron off guard with his question, Lucius attempted to bring their conversation back to the matter at hand. He gently stroked Harry's hand under the table with his thumb slowly back and forth. He was in such a better mood than a minute before.

"Oh, well, our Kingdom is in a different realm of this world. It exists in the same plains as your world, but in a different realm, so two people could be standing in the same place in our two worlds, but in different realms… do you understand? There are certain places where our Elvin Realm conjoins to yours. It is easier for us to travel in your world by using these connections to our own. For instance, you can get to our world from predetermined points all over this continent, but only if you have the key."

"Let me get this straight." Lucius began with a furrowed brow. This seemed very interesting. He had heard of elves having realms of their own, but it was never described how to enter these places without an elf by your side. "Where we are sitting right now in this world there is a restaurant, but in your realm there could be a pond or a hillside?"

"Exactly." Daeron answered. "There is a doorway to our realm in the Forbidden Forest and that is the closest connection to Hogsmeade, so I traveled through that doorway to meet with you."

"Isn't it dangerous for you travel through the Forbidden Forest?" Lucius asked, his face calm, though he exuded a wave of worry for the elf.

Daeron nodded a few times. "There are many dangerous creatures in the forest, but most dare not attack an elf, and those that could harm us, either can't catch us, or can't sense us, so it's merely a matter of how stealthy we can be as we pass over them through the trees, or whatnot."

The veela nodded in understanding, then continued in his ponderings. "Does Hogwarts know of the doorway?"

Daeron blinked a few times. "If they do, there isn't much they can do about it, now is there? Our doorway has been there longer than their school, so technically, it's our property, not theirs."

Harry and Lucius chuckled and the atmosphere shifted to a more comfortable one… Lucius was becoming more and more curious of this elf's world.

"How do you get messages to our realm?" Lucius inquired with a raised brow which made him look very aristocratic.

"Special loyal hawks that live a very long time stay either in the Ministry, or in our realm. When we wish to send messages, the birds disappear from our realm and appear in yours, then take flight to their destination. It was something that Merlin thought of a long time ago when he aided us in creating our own realm. As legend goes, he owed us a great debt, and to fill that debt he gave us our own realm so that the development and destruction of this world would not ruin or affect our culture." He explained.

"Wow." Lucius exclaimed softly. "I had no idea."

"Show him the key." Harry urged as he gently elbowed Daeron.

"Okay." Daeron smiled slightly as he moved his hands around his neck and pulled on a sturdy chain which eventually produced a crystal half as long a his hand and as wide as his middle finger. It glowed gently in the dark room which caused Daeron to hide it under his shirt quickly after Lucius had taken a good look at the jewel.

"So, if you meet Draco and indeed hit things off, what do you plan to do?" Lucius leaned back as he spoke, crossing his arms over his chest in a judging manner, and locking eyes with this elf, trying to intimidate him.

"I would hope to eventually join our two families together by way of Elvin ceremony and if Draco should desire it, I would hope for children."

"Children?" Lucius exclaimed in surprise. He recalled nearly a week ago when he and Draco had had this conversation. It was definitely interesting.

"Yes, I want children, but it really depends on what he wants." Daeron paused for a moment before leaning over the table and tearing off a piece of bread to nibble on before looking to Lucius passionately. "Could you tell me about him?"

Lucius' features softened and he debated what to tell the elf. "Draco is very loving. When he devotes himself to something, he gives all of himself. He does nothing half-assed and will only accept as much in return. He loves going riding and likes to plan the occasional picnic during these excursions. He's very demanding and adventurous and is the kind of person that would rather have company than be alone, even if there is nothing said and everyone is just working, or reading, he would rather do it with others. It's very hard to earn his respect, but once you have it you're in for life, no matter the circumstances." Lucius took a prideful breath and let it out. "My son has been searching for his mate ever since he came of age, and even before then." Lucius stated with a heavy tone to his words, as if a warning to Daeron. "Because he is only part-veela he frets even more about finding a mate because it is harder for him to do so without his full power. He has almost given up completely in his search and is trying to content himself with merely having Harry and myself for family, but it is not the same. I hope with all that I am, that you are his mate. I hope you will be loyal and loving, like I have heard that elves are. I hope that you consider his desires and cherish his every breath because he is a _very_ special person. He is the only son I have and I want him to be happy." With all this said, Daeron felt honored to have met this man, for he truly loves both his son and his mate, and it only made him want to meet and become acquainted with Draco Malfoy sooner.

Both Harry and Daeron noticed the look though. It was inevitable and going unsaid for now, but Lucius' gaze spoke volumes for him. Without words, Lucius was warning Daeron with his gaze that should he _ever_ hurt Draco -be it physically or emotionally- then Daeron would soon find himself without a head or legs.

"Well, now that _that_ is all settled, how about we decide when to meet Draco?" Harry added cheerfully after a gulp of his whiskey.

"As soon as possible." Daeron added, slightly melancholy that he wouldn't be meeting Draco today.

There was a long silence whilst everyone thought about the best way to go about this.

"I don't think Draco will be too happy about us going behind his back like this." Harry commented dryly, then gulped some of Lucius' water down. "He would see this as us interfering more than us accidentally finding his mate, so I think we should just _happen_ upon each other on an outing or something."

Lucius thought this over. Daeron frowned slightly in worry.

"Won't that seem even more of a setup though?" The elf queried.

"No." Harry answered easily. "It's not as much of a conniving plan as it is an accident that he gets more of a say in. I think he would appreciate finding his mate on his own more than if we brought him a prospect. It would be more by his veela genes helping him to find his soul mate; do you understand where I'm coming from?" Harry asked as he scratched his head. It was kind of difficult for him to explain.

"I understand what you mean to say." Daeron nodded. "He doesn't have as much faith in his veela self because he's only part veela, so if he were to find me without aid, it would make him more confident in his decision and it would be like assuring him that it is indeed, his decision."

"Exactly!" Harry cried out with a cheer. "Now, how about Lucius and I take Draco on a short vacation to the Elvin Realm. It's someplace he's never been before, it would give him a chance to see your homeland," Harry added with a gentle pat to Daeron's hand, "and it would be ideal for our scheme because he wouldn't suspect a thing -of course he'll meet elves in that realm, so it isn't as odd as meeting an elf in the middle of the Wizarding World."

"You're a genius!" Daeron laughed happily. He was feeling rather gay with the present atmosphere and the prospect of meeting his life mate in the near future in his homeland.

Harry bowed exaggeratedly, which became even funnier when he hit his head on the table, then rubbed at the spot on his forehead whilst being laughed at by his two companions. A tint of rouge touched his cheeks as he glared at them before snickering as well. Lucius tried to control his laughter, but it was just so hilarious to see Harry -who was always so in control of his body and his surroundings- bang his head on the table.

When both men finally got their laughter under control, Harry glared at them with his hands on his slim hips. "Are you both quite finished?"

This caused a short bought of snickering before they were finally calm enough to continue talking.

"So, today is Saturday, correct?" Lucius asked of either man. Both nodded. "How about we make this visit for Monday? It will give Draco time to reorganize his plans and it will be less suspicious -as if you and I devised this plan whilst eating, which isn't entirely a lie." Lucius suggested.

"Excellent!" Daeron cried eagerly. "Very impressive planning, Lucius."

Lucius bowed his head appreciatively, though not nearly deep enough to hit the table.

"Here you go, gents! Sam says it's all on the house." Serena announced as she set a pizza in the center of their table. "Anything else I can get for you all?" She asked of the smiling men at the table.

"We're fine, thank you." Harry responded, and smiled as she walked away. They all turned to look at the pizza steaming in the center of the table. "Okay, now that that is all settled, let's eat!"

A/N: I have interent! I am now alive again! Sorry for the delay. Another chapter will be posted shortly.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: To state the perfectly obvious: I updated! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 20

Lucius held open the front door for Harry as they entered the mansion many hours later. They both laughed as they stepped into the house and shut the door.

"I don't understand how you can like that thing!" Lucius cried out with a laugh, referring to the motorcycle they had taken from Hogsmeade.

"What's wrong with it?" Harry countered playfully.

"Aren't you worried it will kick out on you when you're in midair?"

"No." The dark-haired wizard laughed at the absurdity of the thought. He'd been doing that a lot today… laughing, that is… and he'd noticed Lucius was doing an awful lot of laughing as well. Lucius' laughter was so contagious it had Harry laughing at the most stupid of things, almost to the point where he couldn't stop smiling. "I take very good care of that bike and it's very well made. Besides, even if the alternator did die or something it wouldn't matter; the bike automatically draws on the magic of the driver in situations where something doesn't work and it continues gliding until it is safely landed. Nothing to worry about."

Lucius was suspicious, but it didn't really matter. Harry was confident in the machine, so that was all that mattered.

Draco came walking out of the Dining Room with a book in hand and his nose half buried in it until he heard all of the laughter from the foyer. "Father! Harry, how was your evening? You were gone so long, I almost began to worry."

"You shouldn't worry so much, Draco." Harry told his friend as he threw an arm over his shoulder. "You'll give yourself gray hairs. Wouldn't want to ruin that pretty little head of yours." He kissed the blonde's temple before ruffling his hair and walking over to the stairs leading toward Lucius' rooms.

Draco was snickering and smiling mostly at the happy man that had just embraced him. He turned to his father who was smiling warmly at him -it was pride, and love, and perhaps something else in his eyes.

"He seems extremely happy." Draco commented softly.

"We both are." Lucius added, looking briefly after Harry to watch him turn down the hall at the top of the stairs before he turned back to his son. "Harry and I are planning a trip to the Elvin Kingdom for Monday. We would really like you to come with us. We will be gone for a few days and we leave Monday, so please change any engagements you have for the week." The veela told his son calmly. A peaceful serenity was filling his soul and he wanted to go join his mate for some fun to cap off the day.

Draco's eyes widened at the proposition. "Fabulous. I'll just tell work to fuck off and make sure everyone knows I'll be unavailable." He replied with a smirk. "What brought about the idea?"

"Harry and I were talking and he confessed to missing the Elvin world and he thought it would good for the both of us to get away from the Wizarding World for some relaxation. We leave by four in the morning. Harry wants us to see the sunrise from there. Alright."

"Sounds great!" The youth exclaimed. "Can't wait." He yawned and walked up to his father to hug him. He leaned his head on his father's shoulder and embraced him for a leisurely hug. "I'm so happy to see you so in love and happy, Father."

"Thank you, Draco." Lucius whispered into his son's hair. He could feel his veela side embracing Draco's tiny veela-self as well and it settled him with a great deal of contentment. "Good night." He said as he released his child. "Sleep well."

"Good night, Father." _Though I doubt you'll sleep much._ He thought with a smirk as he walked toward his own wing of the Manor. He was excited to see the place that Harry cherished so much. He couldn't wait for tomorrow to be over so Monday could get there and they could go on this trip. _I've gotta pack!_

* * *

As Lucius stepped into his rooms he saw Harry pulling his shirt over his head so that he was clad only in his boxers.

"You were taking so long, I thought I'd have to start by myself." Harry murmured with a playful smirk as he approached Lucius with a sway to his hips. The shorter wizard closed the door behind his stunned mate and pushed him further into the room. "I think you have far too many layers on for what I want to do to you."

The veela snorted softly and his fingers flew over the buttons to his waistcoat. "I agree." He replied gruffly.

Their lips connected soundly as Lucius yanked off his coat and tossed it somewhere out of the way. He then began working on his trousers, getting them off with little effort, and once he was clear of his pants he made a quick grab for Harry, picking the shorter man up by grabbing his thighs and pulling those legs around his waist.

Harry cried out as he was hauled up into his veela's arms. He had the distinct impression that tonight he would not be the one in control, but he didn't see a problem with that. They were new lovers. They were testing the waters. Perhaps in time one of them would be more dominant than the other, but for now, he was willing to just _experience_ Lucius.

(Here's a summary since I can't actually leave this bit here. Lucius throws Harry on the bed and has his wicked way with him, releasing his veela when he couldn't control it any longer. He was more aggressive than Harry had been, but Harry refrained from telling the other until they were done. Editted out for obvious reasons. Sorry.)

Harry couldn't stop the grunt of pain after both men had come down from their highs of pleasure and Lucius had pulled from him.

The blonde's eyes widened -his veela fully satisfied and currently relinquishing control to Lucius again- in horror. "Are you hurt?" The veela demanded sharply, his voice gruff from growling and heavy breathing.

"It's alright." Harry murmured softly. "Probably just a bit too rough for my first time." He smiled gently at his mate, then the teen fell back, boneless, letting a big breath out to relax completely.

Lucius was tense as he sat up and leaned over his mate. "I'm sorry." The blonde whispered tenderly to his lover, using one hand to thread his fingers through his mate's hair, and the other to reach between Harry's legs for his member. "Let me make it up to you." He spoke in a husky voice into Harry's ear.

Harry groaned pleasurably as he allowed his mate to arouse him again. "You don't have to…" his breath caught and hitched as the blonde worked on him, "the sex wasn't bad, love… just rough…" He moaned sexily.

"Shh." The veela shushed as he began kissing and licking his way down his mate, being as gentle, but also as passionate as possible which drove Harry crazy in all the right ways.

* * *

Lucius was startled awake by his mate sucking deeply against his throat over the mark that he had made before. He breathed sharply in, his mouth hanging open as his mate gnashed the mark until he was positive it would stay for another week, at least, and only then did he let up and tenderly lick at his mark.

"It was starting to look a little pale." The younger man rubbed his cheek against his veela gently. "Why don't you have facial hair?"

Lucius nearly purred in contentment when his mate started rubbing against him. "Hmm, oh, I rub on a potion to stunt the growth of facial hair once a year."

Harry sat up with a hum of thought as he stroked his chin with rough fingers. "Do you think I should grow one?"

"One, what?" The blonde asked with furrowed brows.

"A beard? Facial hair in general, I guess."

"Do you use a potion to keep it from growing?" Lucius queried, cocking his head slightly like a curious animal.

"No." Harry shook his head with a small smile, as if he were feeling nostalgic about this memory. "My magic stops it from growing for some reason, so I have to want it to grow for it to come. That's why my skin is beardless."

The veela's brow quirked in wonder. "Well aren't you just a unique beauty." Lucius murmured as he leaned in and kissed Harry chastely. As he pulled back, he pondered whether Harry would look good with some fashion of facial hair.

"I'm going to grow something and you can tell me what you think." Harry interrupted with a sigh. "A little mustache with a scruff for beard, maybe." He shrugged.

"Whatever you want, love." Lucius chuckled, leaning in to slide his arm around his mate and pull him back down onto the bed to relax in his arms against the headboard. As the heat between the two cooled, Harry grabbed the blanket and covered them both waist-high with it. They both just laid together, just stroking each other in a gentle way, engraining the feel of the others skin into their minds.

"Oh!" The brunet exclaimed in a tired awe as he slowly grabbed Lucius' right hand to examine it. "Isn't this the symbol for the Malfoy Family?" Harry asked as he looked over the ring on the pale hand of the Malfoy monarch.

"Yes, it's the Malfoy Family Crest, and this is the ring that each member of the Malfoy family wears to proclaim their lineage."

"It's beautiful." Harry mumbled as he rested his head against the veela again. "I wonder where the Potter Family rings are. Probably in my vault, hmm?"

"You've never gone through your vaults?" Lucius demanded in shock.

"No." Harry sighed. "It was just too painful when I first had them, but I suppose it's about time, right? I should probably be wearing that ring and I should probably have some other pureblood stuff that you use." He shrugged as best he could in his position beside Lucius.

"I'll go through it with you if you like."

"I'd appreciate that."

There was a long pause of peaceful silence as they both just marinated in the time they'd been spending together.

"Do you mind if we talk about our pasts now?" Lucius questioned of his tired mate. "I realize it may seem inappropriate at such a peaceful moment-"

"What would you like to talk about, and do you mean to only ask me questions, or is this two ways?" The youth responded easily.

"I want for us both to know everything about each other."

Harry snickered. "Well, that may take more than just tonight, but it's good that we start this now. You can ask first if you like."

"What's your favorite color, and why?" Lucius asked with a smile, causing his younger mate to laugh.

"Well, I suppose blue is my favorite because it makes the skies so beautiful and the sea so wide and deep and unpredictable. It's a very peaceful color, and I like calming things." He paused. "What about you?"

"My favorite color has always been a dark emerald green, but when I met you… it changed to the burning green color of your eyes. There is nothing quite like the color of your eyes. The grass is too dark, the trees are too dull… There truly is nothing like your beautiful eyes."

Harry blushed lightly, then sighed in contentment. "Thank you." After a small delay to think up a question, "Do you have any family still living besides Draco?"

Lucius breathed in and out with a frown as he contemplated that. "I believe there are still a few cousins and uncles living throughout the world, but none close enough to care about. I haven't heard from any of my relatives since before I was forced to marry Narcissa." He grimaced. "I don't know if Draco mentioned it, but Narcissa and I have been divorced legally for nearly three months, but she hasn't been in the house since just after my imprisonment."

Harry hummed softly to show that he had heard, but he didn't know quite what to say to that. "Draco told me about that a while back."

"What's your favorite type of food?" Lucius asked.

"I like Italian food. I like pasta, and seafood the best, I think. I don't mind strawberries, but I hate the seeds. I love most fruits. I don't like most kinds of cherries. I like green grapes and I _love_ blueberries." He groaned at the thought and rubbed his stomach. "Blueberry pancakes and waffles!" His stomach rumbled. "Great!" He moaned. "Now, I'm hungry." Lucius broke out into soft rings of laughter as he reached down and rubbed Harry's back.

"We'll have the house-elves make us blueberry pancakes tomorrow. I'm sure Draco will enjoy that too."

"Yeah, probably."

There was a long silence.

"Harry, can I ask you about that… wind and… Sirius?"

Harry breathed in deeply and sighed before drawing his breath again to speak. "I can't control when the wind comes. I'll just be staring off out into the sky and I'll feel this pressure in the back of my mind, and when I open my mind to that pressure the wind comes and sometimes he says things to me. He tells me he loves me, or he is proud of me, but once… he told me… 'You belong'. I didn't understand him then, but after that the wind only came to me when I was here and rarely anywhere else unless I was sleeping on a battlefield or something similar and he would comfort me. I think he meant to say that I belong… here." He shrugged with a slight blush rouging his cheeks.

"Thank you for telling me that, love." Lucius whispered as he leaned down and kissed his lover tenderly.

They laid there for a long time in companionable silence instead of speaking and it was fine with them both just to wallow in each others warmth and love.

"Why were you so tense earlier with the crowds in Hogsmeade?" Lucius inquired.

Harry snorted, but continued to softly trace the contours of Lucius' chest. "I hate crowds. I hate it when people realize who I am, then want to touch me, shake my hand, and talk to me like they're either my biggest fan, or like they know me better than my best friends through the articles they've read about me. I despise having to put up with people like that. Everyone needs to just get over it. It's been over a year. Move on with life. I certainly have." He groaned. "I try to be inconspicuous and put up a shield in my mind that gives me a 'Notice Me Not' kind of barrier. So people see me, but don't feel the need to say anything or take notice really."

"Brilliant." The blonde murmured as he caressed the brunet's mop of silky hair. "It must be obvious why I don't like crowds." Lucius whispered breathlessly.

Harry hummed in agreement and kissed the skin beside his lips. "It's alright to not want to be near people. It seems almost suffocating being in such large crowds, and you've hardly been around anyone other than those creatures for an entire year. They don't understand us. There's no need for them to come near us anyway. All we need is each other… and Draco." Harry told Lucius in a placating way.

The blonde breathed in deeply and released his breath before continuing on to this… less favorable topic.

"About the _dementors_." Lucius began hesitantly.

…

"What about them?" Harry wondered after a long pause of silence from the veela below him.

"They were there… in Azkaban, but… they hardly passed my cell. It seemed less than twice a week that they passed me by and they didn't linger. It was traumatic with them forcing me to relive my worst memories and fears, but they weren't around me nearly enough as they should have been when you consider what I was imprisoned for."

The dark-haired youth bobbed his head a few times and hummed with understanding as he rolled over so the back of his head rested on Lucius' chest. "I wasn't sure if you would notice or even if you would ever bring it up. I know how terrible the memories they revive can be. I knew you would go insane with what you would have to relive and something inside of me kept gnawing at me after the trial." He paused. "It told me something was still wrong, even though I had done everything I could to get you the minimum sentence possible. It took me a night to understand what had been bothering me. I set to righting it the next day because I knew you would be shipped off to Azkaban that day. I pulled off some blackmailing and used every ounce of my Slytherin side that I possess, but it finally paid off. You were put into the minimum security area."

"You must owe most of the Ministry." Lucius spoke breathlessly with awe.

"No. Just a couple of good looking secretaries." Harry joked and laughed until he felt Lucius wrap him in a sincere embrace of love and devotion.

"You made it possible for me to survive the year without you. You saved my sanity and my life. I love you, Harry. Thank you so very much. You mean the world to me."

As they fell to sleep, wrapped in each others loving embrace, Lucius couldn't help but smile as his eyes fluttered into sleep.

_When I'm with Harry, my worries about Azkaban don't chase me. I can sleep in a bed instead of the floor when I have Harry holding me in his arms. No bad dreams… no reliving the past… only dreams of our future together… Maybe I'll dream about us having kids tonight… Hmm… we forgot to talk about that… next time….

* * *

_

A/N: I'm happy to have internet access again. Sorry about the wait, but I couldn't get it online. Kisses to all of my reviewers, but I couldn't respond to you either for lack of internet. I will though.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: This story has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted smaller to fit your screen. Please see endnote for explanation.

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Chapter 21

Harry slowly awoke from his hazy sleep to soft puffs of air being blown across the back of his neck. He shivered slightly, but stopped himself from moving too much so that he wouldn't awaken his bed-mate. The dark-haired man smiled as he thought of the previous night they had shared together: making love, sleeping on and off, and talking in between. How had he been graced with such a wonderful man? They had talked the night away and finally gone to bed in the wee hours of the morn speaking of things that happened in their lives -lovers, battles, scars, likes, dislikes…. Everything had been perfect.

Why had he woken up though? Lucius had surely been breathing on his neck all night seeing as how his arm was still securely fastened –almost in a possessive manner- around Harry's waist, so why had he awoken?

Suddenly, Harry's eyes shot open. It was Sunday! He had promised Jen that he would be there that morning after he had realized he wouldn't be able to make it the night before. Damn!

After returning to Lucius' rooms the night before he had sent a message by owl to Hermione, asking her to call Jen and relay the message before he had begun stripping to encounter his mate.

He bit his lower lip in thought as he slowly brought his watch up to eye-level. It was only five o'clock. He could still make it there by six thirty without having to Apparate. It couldn't be avoided. Not only had he promised Jen, but he also didn't have any clothes left that were clean.

It had taken him nearly three hours of argument with the house-elves to get them to leave his clothes be. He had to hide them in his closet so that the elves wouldn't take them and cast charms on them. He didn't want that, and besides, he liked the smell of fabric softener and his weekly trips to see his friend. This couldn't be avoided, no matter how much he would love to remain in Lucius' arms for the better part of the day.

He would only be gone until, at max, nine; he would surely be home before Lucius could really worry about him being gone, if the veela even awoke before then.

With that solved in his mind, Harry cast a warming charm over the blankets with a swish of his hand to keep the blonde veela warm whilst he was gone, and blissfully unaware of his departure, then he slowly pulled himself from the tender embrace and got up.

Upon looking back to the bed, he saw an adorable image. Lucius had one hand curved under his pillow laxly and the other that had been holding Harry, was now resting in the spot where he had been. The blonde's mouth was slightly agape, but just enough for him to breathe in and out, and his hair was streaming out on the pillow behind him, making him look rather fetching just then. Even though a slight crease was forming on his brow and his fingers were slightly twitching, but he was still looking attractive nonetheless.

Harry felt himself slightly respond to that image and he licked his lips, thinking about how he could wake Lucius up in the most pleasurable manner, but he stopped his train of thought and turned back to the armoire.

He quickly dug out his pile of dirty clothes he had asked the house elves to bring from his other room along with his other clothes of course, then pulled out one of the only clean T-shirts he had left, pulling it over his head, then taking out a fleece jacket he had stolen from Draco's closet and putting that on too before stepping into his sneakers –that he just left loose instead of having to tie and untie- and he was off.

As he reached his motorcycle and put his clothes in the carriers, he thought about leaving a note.

That would probably be wise. Both Malfoys would probably flip out if either woke up early and found him gone without a trace.

He hurried back inside, still in his striped and fleeced pajama bottoms that barely clung to his hips, and sleep tousled hair. He walked into the study and grabbed a piece of parchment and quill before penning a short message about him leaving. The dark-haired wizard then called a house-elf and directed him to give either Malfoy the note should they inquire to his whereabouts. The elf nodded slowly, before stating its opinions about him leaving without telling the masters of the house. Harry just smiled and dismissed the elf, before leaving quickly.

He put a silencing charm on his bike before turning the key. He could feel the engine roar to life through his legs, though no sound came out, and he began to take off. Instead of going through the gates, he decided to fly over them, and he took off into the early morning, feeling the dewy atmosphere shoot past him as he drove into the dawning light.

* * *

"Where's that flea market we went to?" Jen asked Harry as they both fished clothing from their dryers and proceeded to fold everything. No one was there quite yet because it was so early on a Sunday, that only they would be crazy enough to be doing laundry.

"Which one?" Harry asked, thinking of the many places his friend had dragged him when he wasn't working; some even in other countries, like Egypt, or Germany.

"The one in America." She clarified.

Oh, yeah. Harry remembered that one alright. Damn, what a plane ride that had been. Jen had family in America, and for Fourth of July weekend (something he hadn't known the Americans celebrated, but the parties had been fun anyway) he had been dragged to America and brought to –where was it again, oh- New Jersey, to visit her family and go to a flea market right near where they lived.

" New Jersey." He answered her as he folded another T-shirt.

"No! I knew _that_." She groaned. "My relatives _live_ there! Of course, I knew that!" She glared at him as he smiled at her in response. "It was near that stadium. Which one was it?"

"Um." They both echoed as they racked their brains for the name of the team that stadium had belonged to. Harry couldn't even remember what stupid _sport_ it had been for. It was another country, for Merlin's sake! The only sport he had ever cared about was Quidditch.

"Ya…. Y… Yankees!" Jen shrieked in success.

"The _New York_ Yankees?" Harry questioned with a raised brow. The two major teams in America were the Red Sox and the Yankees, that was about as much as Harry had gotten out of the trip. Especially because half of Jen's family liked the Yankees, and the other half liked the Red Sox. The only reason he had been left out of their feud was because he was from another country and 'didn't know any better'. "I believe the Yankee's stadium is in New York." He responded as her face fell.

"Damn it!" She snarled as they both continued thinking.

"Giants." Harry answered after a moment –only remembering the name because it reminded him of Hagrid and because it had been a giant stadium in his opinion.

"Yes!" She called out. "Honestly, Harry. I can't believe you thought it was the Yankees! You barmy fool." She continued folding her laundry, trying to avoid the indignant glare she knew she was receiving from her friend.

"_I_ thought?" He questioned in a high tone.

"Yes, honestly, you fool! Yankees play baseball! You weren't even close! Of course, I _knew_ it was the football playing Giants." She smiled at herself, as if she were proud of her brilliance.

Without warning Jen found a large towel tossed over her head from her own pile of laundry. She paused and turned to glare at the place where she knew Harry was snickering, even though she couldn't see him through the towel.

"Bastard." She growled.

"Slut." He responded in tease.

She fought with herself as she pulled the towel off her disheveled head, trying to decide what nasty thing to call him.

"Assbitch!" She snapped caught between two words and the man just stared at her, blinking repeatedly, then he burst out into laughter.

"Ass bitch?" He queried as he doubled over in laughter. "Ass bitch? Where'd you pull that out of?" He laughed so hard he had to sit down for a moment.

Though the pregnant woman tried to hide it, she couldn't stop the snickers that finally turned into outright laughter as well.

"It's too early." She deemed as she tried to continue folding her piles of laundry –now moving on to her next dryer.

As Harry was now done with his own, he brought it out to his motorcycle as he continued murmuring to himself about being an 'ass bitch' and how he could remedy that.

When he came back in to kiss her goodbye, Jen was pouting.

"Are you going to go away for a long time again?" She asked with a frown.

"I don't know. Not for too long, hopefully, but I can't be sure. I told you about the guy that I've met, right?" He asked, referring to what he'd told her when he got there.

"Yes." She sighed in resignation. "You've told me about him. He sounds wonderful."

"He's pretty good to me." Harry told her with distant smile forming over his face as he thought of the blonde. "I don't know about this one." He murmured. "He might be it."

"It?" She asked in disbelief. "You mean… _the_ _one_?"

Harry smiled at her; the happiness glittering in his eyes was beyond all measure as he nodded twice.

"But you…? I mean, you've never…! Will I ever see you again?" She settled on, with her hormones causing her to want to cry at the loss of her friend.

"Definitely!" Harry was quick to assure. "I would never just desert you, but… if it… if this turns out to be _something_, then Lucius will hold president in my life. It doesn't mean I won't have time for you, it just means I'll be spending most of my time with him." He explained.

"What about children?" She asked quickly, then clamped her hand over her mouth the moment she had said it. She saw the immediate affect her words had had one him and it made her heart ache. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

Her friend was scowling in thought, his brows furrowed with sadness.

"I don't know." He whispered. "I'm not sure about anything anymore, but…" He looked back into her eyes from the floor. "I know that whether we have children or not, I think he's going to be the one in my arms for the rest of my life."

"Harry." She breathed. This was serious. Harry had explained about the whole situation after he had gone to this Draco person's home, but… she hadn't realized it was so serious until her friend had spoken those words.

Harry nodded a few times, as if he were telling himself some things, and making sure that his words were true in his head, maybe going over a mental check list of the good and the bad of his decision.

He looked down at his watch suddenly and gasped.

"Okay, I've gotta fly. I'll talk to you later, hopefully before next week." He kissed her cheek quickly and was gone in a flash.

* * *

"Master Draco!"

The young blonde frowned deeply in his sleep at the loud yell, but he just dismissed it as some peculiar abnormality to his dream.

"Master Draco!" The shout came again.

This time, Draco was sure it wasn't part of his dream and he slowly began to awaken. It took him a moment to find the annoying house-elf he wanted to hex in the darkened room.

The curtains were always drawn so that he could sleep as far into the mornings as he liked, but he could see the crack of sunlight through the thick velvet curtains. In that crack of light, he saw the large-eyed elf standing nervously out of reach.

"I swear to the gods that if you don't have a good reason for waking me, Elf, I will curse your tongue around your neck and hang you from it!" He spat in annoyance as he reached for his wand to fulfill his threat. He may not have excelled in Charms when he was at school, but he was a master of curses and hexes.

The elf shivered and cringed in fear as he mumbled and whined something quickly in his defense.

"What did you say?!" Draco snapped, his attitude sharpening his tongue considerably.

"Master Lucius is having a night terror, Sir!" The elf squealed again.

"Night terror?" Draco questioned with a scowl. "You awoke me because my father is having a dream?!" He bellowed, snatching his wand from his bedside and aiming for the elf.

"Master is screaming and tears is coming out of he's eyes! Master is calling for his mate, Sir." The elf announced as he covered his head, waiting for the impact of the curse or hex he would be hit with. When none came, he looked up at the wide-eyed blonde.

"Where is Harry, then? Why not wake him?" Draco asked urgently.

"Master Harry is here not, Sir."

"_Not here_!" Draco cried out. "Where the bloody hell _is_ he?!"

The elf pulled a piece of parchment from under his tattered clothing as he reached out to give it to his veela master.

Draco snatched it from the elf and opened it quickly. His eyes scanned the page as he scowled again.

"_Laundry_?!" He demanded sharply. "Why has he gone to clean his _laundry_?! Why did you elves not clean it for him?" He shouted in accusation as he leapt gracefully from his bed and pulled a robe over his pajamas.

"We tries, Sir!" The elf exclaimed, seeming to be equally as frustrated over the laundry issue. "We tries many times, Sir, but Master Harry threatens us! Master Harry threatens to _wash dishes_ if we did not leaves he's laundry unwashed!" The elf tried to explain.

Draco snorted as he strode from his rooms in great haste to make it to his father's chambers. It took a few minutes to walk there in great stride, though it felt like forever. All the while he could hear the elf explaining his father's nightmare problems behind him as he walked.

He threw open the door and strode through the sitting room and right into the open bedroom.

There his father was, thrashing around on the bed, tears streaming down his face as he seemed to try and be fighting demons in his own mind. The blankets had long since been kicked aside, and there was only Lucius in his silk pants, kicking and screaming in pain every once in a while across the bed.

Draco was amazed he hadn't fallen off the bed yet, though it really was quite a large mattress.

He rushed to the side of the bed and grabbed his father's wrist, trying to calm him down, though the man was still asleep. The young man had never seen his father in such terrible turmoil. Where was Harry when you needed him?

By grabbing his wrist, Draco had managed to calm down his father for the briefest of moments before he suddenly turned violent and swung his fist at Draco to get free, punching his son right in the face, as he continued to thrash, even when free, and remain sleeping.

Draco stumbled back and fell to the floor from the gravity of the punch. His father had never hit him before, and he was surprised by how strong the other man was, even at his age –though in Wizarding years, he was probably in the prime of his life.

Standing, Draco tried casting binding spells on his father, but some kind of magical protection charm seemed to be absorbing all of his attempts. It was just fine and well, because Draco doubted that even if his charms had landed they probably would never hold his father; at least not for long.

"Damn it, Harry! Where are you?"

"Harry!" Lucius screamed, as if in pain, and Draco felt his heart clench. This was terrible. Even in his dreams, Lucius knew his mate was absent from his side, and he probably felt like he had been deserted by his mate subconsciously, which was now throwing him into a very painful dream of loneliness.

* * *

As Harry reentered the Malfoy Manor, he instantly knew something was wrong. He had had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach since halfway back there.

He suddenly ran up the stairs, heading toward Lucius' chambers, fearing the worst, though he sparsely knew what _that_ could be.

Bursting into the already open rooms, Harry called out for his mate, but was greeted by Draco instead.

"Harry." Draco snapped, half-relieved, half-infuriated. "Damn it! Why did you have to leave?"

"What's going on?" Harry asked frantically as he caught sight of Lucius. "What's happened to him?"

"He thinks you're gone, that you've deserted him. He's been calling out for you since you left, I'd imagine."

Turning to Draco, Harry saw the bruise forming on the blonde's cheek and some kind of paternal instinct kicked in, which surprised Draco to no ends. "What happened to you?" He asked as he gently touched the bruise.

"I got too close to him and he lashed out at me." Draco responded raggedly. "Please, just… fix him." He ordered in a pleading tone.

Harry nodded several times, then approached the bed. He sat gently on the side of the bed, somewhat wary of the thrashing limbs as he debated on the least painful course of action. Speaking first would probably be best.

"Lucius! Lucius, calm down. Lucius, I'm here. Can you hear me? I'm here, Lucius! I haven't left you, love. I'm here. Shh. My love, calm yourself." This only seemed to slow Lucius down in a minor degree, but that's all Harry needed. He slipped onto the bed when Lucius had turned the other direction, and he wrapped his arms quickly around Lucius. "I've got you." He whispered softly into the veela's ear. "Peace, my love. I'm here. I'm not leaving you."

Slowly, Lucius calmed at the touch of his mate, and he turned in the embrace.

Draco watched on with baited breath, hoping that that would be the end of it. Thankfully, Lucius seemed to calm back into sleep and both teens gave a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Harry felt hands sliding under his jacket and shirt, gliding over his skin, causing his breathing to increase slightly. The snaps of his fleece were yanked at and the jacket was thrown off the bed sharply.

Harry gasped as Lucius' cold toes came in contact with his ankle, moving the fabric of his pant up and caressing against Harry's legs, as if to find as much skin to skin contact as his sleep-induced brain could manage without too much effort. Soon Harry was completely encompassed with Lucius inside his clothes and snuggling deeply into him with a very possessive grip keeping him from going _anywhere_.

Draco stepped closer, wondering if he should help or leave.

"It's alright." Harry murmured softly, but so Draco could hear with a grin plastered on his face. "He won't hurt me." The dark-haired wizard began stroking Lucius' hair with his free arm that wasn't pinned under both his and the blonde's weight.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked hesitantly, but then he saw Lucius snuggling his face deeper into Harry's neck with a serene smile on his face, and he knew his father was fine now that his mate was with him and Harry was too.

Draco's eyes connected with his friend's and they both nodded in agreement that things were alright. With that settled Draco spun on his heel and left the room with a sigh. He wondered if he would be able to get back to sleep, or if he should just head down to the kitchen for breakfast. Eventually, Draco decided to try bed once more and let the house-elves wake him up whenever they were serving breakfast.

* * *

"I love you." Harry whispered into Lucius' ear as he pet his veela's hair tenderly. He wasn't expecting a response, but suddenly the blonde froze his movements. He turned to Harry so that their eyes connected, and Harry smiled when he saw the sleep-hazy eyes of the man he loved. "Finally woke up, did you?" He asked in amusement.

Lucius looked over and around at everything in the room, startled, then back at his mate.

"You left?" He asked in a hurt tone.

"I went to do laundry." Harry nodded with a small smile. "I wasn't aware that your reaction would be… quite so terrible."

"You came back."

"Good gods, Lucius, of course I came back." Harry snapped with a frown. "I would never just pack all of my things and leave you while you were sleeping. I don't… I don't think I could ever leave you…. Ever." He looked away suddenly –all of this emotional crap was very unmanly-, but Lucius was beaming with joy.

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course." Harry responded eagerly as he turned back to the veela and saw the Cheshire Cat smile on his face, causing him to smile as well.

"Oh, um, was I about to…?" Lucius began as he looked down at their barely dressed selves -the blonde half inside Harry's clothes.

Harry quirked his brow, curiously, wondering what Lucius meant by that, when suddenly it hit him that the veela thought he had been assaulting Harry in his sleep. "No! Draco thought you might, but you just seemed to want to snuggle. He's really rather protective of both of us, I think." Harry added with a smile.

Lucius smiled as well. "He's loyal, and I think he may be beginning to love you like a father as well."

Harry blushed. "That's odd. I can't be his father."

"You can if you marry me." Lucius whispered into his ear before pulling back and staring seriously into his lover's emerald eyes. Harry stared back with wide eyes of surprise.

"I hope that's not your formal proposal, Lucius Caiden Malfoy." Harry responded with a scowl at the manner of which the blonde had dropped that _hint_. "I usually don't like to judge you by your last name, but I would expect _a little_ more from a Malfoy than _that_!"

"No, that wasn't formal." Lucius smiled briefly at Harry, then frowned in sadness. "I had terrible dreams while you were gone." He murmured in depression.

"Tell me about them." Harry responded worriedly, leaning closer to stroke his mate and calm him if necessary.

"I was tossing and turning in my sleep. I could feel fatigue and fear gnawing at me. I felt insecure and…" Lucius couldn't find the words to express his sadness as he tried to explain it.

_**Flashback of dreams…**_

Harry didn't deserve this pain! He didn't deserve having to mate with Lucius to keep him sane.

It was a curse. He reasoned. The one he loved didn't deserve to be tortured like this. Forced into something he obvious was neither ready for nor desired in the least.

Why had this happened? Forced into a relationship with the worst possible candidate.

Harry's worst enemy. His worst nightmare. His lover and partner for life.

_He's gone._ Lucius thought. _He's left me. I'm not worthy of him. He's justified. He's someone I could only hope to touch and that touch has expired._

_**End…**_

Harry embraced his mate, feeling the emotions Lucius was feeling through their connection and wanting to comfort him as much as possible. Lucius had explained his nightmares to the best of his abilities. Nightmares of Harry leaving and not coming back… nightmares of Lucius just not deserving to love anyone… Harry couldn't take the pain and insecurity that emanated through their connection. Lucius did realize though that his mate did love him, and he wasn't about to leave him any time soon. It was going to take a lot longer for his veela self and his human self to be equally as comfortable with any kind of separation from his mate, but it's good that all of their fears were out in the open now. Harry promised that if he ever had to leave for anything again, that he would wake Lucius up first and explain his departure –at least until the veela was more secure. Lucius was very satisfied with this solution.

Wanting to get past the depressing dreams Lucius had had and the rough morning they had both experienced, Harry decided what the best course of action was. He began to rise and looked to his blonde with a cunning gleam to his eye. He knew this person beside him was his life-mate. He knew it perfectly well because if Lucius had been wrong about them being mates, they wouldn't have been able to connect like they had through their minds, and emotions. Knowing you have your perfect match in life eliminates all self-doubt, which made Harry want to express his emotions again and again, no matter how "too soon" it felt to be saying 'I love you'. In this case, in this moment, with his veela… it felt perfect.

So he smiled coyly at the blonde pouting up at him from the bed.

"Care to join me in the shower?" He queried.

The blonde took on his more characteristic self, pulling his dignity together and sitting up in bed to raise an aristocratic eyebrow. He elegantly cocked his head to the side as if he were _only considering_ the idea, but once his eyes caught on the movements of his mate stripping as he walked out of the room and toward the bathroom, he gave up his play and dashed after him, shedding his clothes as he went.

END

(To be continued in the Sequel should you wish to read more.)

* * *

A/N: TO EXPLAIN WHY FIVE CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN EDITED FROM THIS STORY:

I felt that this story was supposed to be about Lucius and Harry and I kind of lost sight of that reality after this point. The rest of the story past this point is more about Draco than anything else, so I have made the executive decision to separate the two parts. This part of the story is complete, but the other chapters that had been posted here will be put toward the sequel to _Of Love's Bestowing_. I am sorry for any upsets this may cause. I should probably have written the whole thing first then revised it for a while before posting it so this didn't happen. I don't know whether I should do that for the sequel…

I think it would be terribly unfair to you readers if I kept the next five chapters to myself until I finished the rest of the story, but I don't know how long it will take me to finish the sequel…

Well, I suppose the question should be posed to you readers –

**SHOULD I POST AS MUCH OF THE SEQUEL AS I HAVE NOW, OR SHOULD I WAIT UNTIL I HAVE IT COMPLETED?**

I will wait until Sunday, May 4th, for comments before deciding to post, or not to post the sequel immediately. Feel free to either PM me or drop a review. (I know reviews take less effort, but I don't want you to feel obligated to respond this way.) Thank you all for any response you may have.

Happy reading!


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